Another Cliché Kakashi and Sakura Story, I know
by CutieBelle26
Summary: When your entire world revolves around one person, it changes all the rules.
1. Chapter 1

My First FF. Eh, I don't think I'm very good but whatever. This is one I wrote in spare time before exams and its over 40 pages long. Uploading it in "chapters" though because I'm too lazy to type it all out at once. Lol ^ -.

~ Belle

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"Sakura, help me!" Naruto yelled. "I'm all out of chakra!"

I was helpless, staring at the limp body swung over the shoulder of one of Orochimaru's men. It was the one I loved, whose hugs warmed my body and kind words warmed my heart.

I was fixated.

Complying with my teammate's request, I leapt off the huge tree branch I had been standing on, and dove with all my strength at the man holding the body. I was tackled from above, a fist striking my back and sending me rocketing down, nearly a hundred feet, to the hard forest floor below.

"SAKURA!" Naruto yelled again. I lifted my head to look at him.

"G-g-go…" I said quietly. He looked at me from his hiding place, mouthed "I'll save you," and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

I felt breath in my hair. My eyes closed.

"Haruno Sakura." Orochimaru purred, the breathing stopped and I felt a foot drive into my side.

My piercing scream echoed through the forest; I felt my consciousness slipping.

"Take her." Orochimaru said over his shoulder to another man, who slung me up roughly into his arms. "Another great team falls!" He said more loudly, as if willing a challenger to approach. "No one can save you now." I drifted, and then it all went black.

I came to slowly, coming around to my surroundings at a sluggish rate. They must have drugged me so they could save my life. I couldn't have survived that fall.

The back of my head was pressed to the space between someone's shoulder blades. I noticed some of my hair in my eyes; I looked down and saw my arms bound to someone else's. I was sitting down, and my legs were stretched out in front of me. I tried to force my chakra into the ropes in hopes they would loosen and I could escape, but it was no use.

"Pointless…" a voice drawled. "Chakra shields."

Of course. I stared into my lap.

"Where are the others?"

"Gone…" my voice cracked on the single syllable.

"Good. At least we have some hope then."

"Yeah…" I sighed.

*****  
_2 Days Later…_

I hadn't spoken in two days. I hadn't moved in two days. And most importantly, he hadn't spoken to me in two days.

We hadn't eaten, but we were alive, excess chakra, reduced stamina.

It was dark on the night of the second day.

I was beyond tired. I couldn't get much rest while I was being detained in a sitting position. He shifted and I moaned quietly in pain as my ribs protested.

"… sorry."

I blushed. "No, it's okay… sorry for making noise."

Another moment later, a small curl of smoke appeared at my feet. Orochimaru appeared within it. He laughed quietly.

"I have a proposition for you two…"

"What is it?" My fellow captive asked, suspicious.

Touching his foot to mine we all blurred, and soon we were in a room that was dimly lit, and although I couldn't make out the identity of those seated along the north wall, I could make out the image of several people. Orochimaru pulled us to a standing position, us remaining back to back, held together by our bonds. A katana was pressed to my back; I could feel the blade pointed upwards to the ropes. Orochimaru twisted it menacingly.

"One of you lives, and goes free," "he hissed, "so long as the other _dies_!"

The katana's smooth side slid quickly up my back, slicing all bonds and I felt my arm being grabbed and I was swung around.

"Haruno Sakura…"

I regained my balance quickly.

"…and Hatake Kakashi."

I met his eyes and shook my head vigorously. He narrowed his one visible eye and I saw Orochimaru's face over Kakashi's shoulder, his eyes narrowed into slits and he smiled evilly.

"Begin."

*****

"Sakura…" he began.

"No." My fists were clenched and my body was shaking.

He blurred from my line of sight and disappeared. I stayed where I was and waited.

The blur came in front of me then, a two-fisted dose of chakra came straight to my face, I felt the burn immediately as I fell, sliding with high speed across the concrete floor, my head slamming into the cement wall, stopping the movement. My eyes closed.

"Fight back." A voice as cold as ice said quietly.

I lifted my head and looked at Kakashi. He had his headband raised and I could see his Sharingan eye. He had the strangest expression on his face. There was some emotion in his face I couldn't read, but before I could identify it, it was gone.

I slowly got to my feet and took a few steps forward. I breathed out slowly and brokenly; I was in pain.

I raised my head to look at him.

"You didn't even try."

"… No, I didn't." I said quietly.

"Fight back." He repeated.

"I can't." I whispered.

"Why not?" he growled. "Have you no desire to be free?"

"No," I whispered again. "I want you to be free."

His head dropped a little, he was so longer looking at me. His hair created a shadow on his face.

One syllable. "Why."

"I-" my voice broke, and I felt the water behind my eyes. "I- … I love you."

He was visibly shaking now, and he suddenly clenched his hands into fists. He blurred from my sight and his voice came from close behind me.

"I don't love you."

Hurt, mixed with the pain of rejection, washed over me like a physical pain. I reached for the kunai attached to my thigh. My middle finger went into the loop and the rest of my fingers looped around the middle of it.

I hesitated a second before forcing chakra down to my legs as a single tear sought escape down my right cheek, dripping off my chin and landing on the cement floor. I gripped the kunai with all my strength and yelled, swinging my arm around, kunai aiming for his neck. I felt nothing and opened my eyes; he was several feet away.

I lunged at him, kunai raised, and as soon as the tip of the blade touched his chest, he "poofed" into a cloud of smoke.

A doppelganger.

I spun around; he was facing me.

"Why?" I asked softly. "Why can't you love me?"

He inhaled sharply, looking me straight in the eye.

"I could never love someone like you."

My breathing hitched and broke; another tear fell down my cheek. It did not escape his notice. My kunai, that before had been raised towards him, now fell loose in my hand. I relaxed my stance into a standing position, all the will to fight now gone. I wanted to be far away. The resolve formed in my mind. My heart was breaking, my tears were streaming, and my chest was in physical pain. I gripped the kunai and held it backwards.

"Sakura!" His non-sharingan eye widened as he watched my actions. His sharingan eye spun wildly; I looked down.

I raised the kunai a bit away from me, my substantial strength more useful than momentum.

"Sakura no!" he yelled as he took a step toward me.

I tightened my grip and stabbed backwards, piercing the blade into my stomach and turning it and slicing upwards, creating an almost 3 inch gash. It hurt less than my chest.

I sank to my knees, a small gasp escaping me.

He was kneeling in front of me then, his right hand on my shoulder, his left hand on my knee. I refused to meet his eyes, my bangs falling down to hide my face.

He quickly pried my fingers off the kunai, and yanked it out of me, tossing it several feet away. He pressed my hand to my wound, holding it there with his. Blood almost immediately started seeping through my fingers. He pressed a little harder.

"Hold on Sakura, it's going to be okay." He said in a consoling tone. "Just whatever you do don't—"

"No…" I sobbed brokenly, trying to lift my hand away from my body. "I want this." I was shaking. "You don't want me."

"Sakura…" he looked at me sadly, as if there was something I didn't know.

I started to cry, widening my fingers under his and letting the blood seep through, hoping death would come sooner. I never wanted to see him again.

"Well Kakashi, it looks like you've about won. Finish her."

So it would be Kakashi that killed me. Rejection pain was still strong, and I began to sob brokenly.

Orochimaru took a few steps more. "She's finished. I'm waiting."

I knew I was finished, and I was starting to feel woozy because of the blood loss. Dizziness overtook me and I let off one last choked sob and I closed my eyes.

"Kakashi-kun…" I breathed out my last breath and everything went black. The last sensation I felt was falling forwards.

---

So that's about it whad'ya think?


	2. Chapter 2

Ty for the one review! I guess this story will be continued haha ^ -. Keep reading and enjoy the second chapter! I might put up chapter 3 tomorrow but it might have to wait until wednesday :( Again I'm lazy lol

~ Belle

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Her head landed against my chest, her hand now slid from mine, moist with her blood. I pulled my headband down, concealing the sharingan. I gently lowered her body to the ground and got to my feet shakily. My bangs hung in my face.

"Well done, Kakashi…" Orochimaru said quietly from behind me. "She was just a chuunin… we knew you would defeat her easily."

I clenched my fists and started shaking.

"Possession Justus are powerful things, and you managed to execute one effectively… impressive. How does it feel to have killed one of your students? Your comrade? Poor girl… she was so much in love with you too… or could you tell, Kakashi? It was so obvious… even I could see it on her face…" He looked to her and laughed quietly. At that exact moment a window smashed and my name was called by another voice.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto's horrified face looked from mine, to Orochimaru's, to Sakura on the ground to the blood on my hands. "Sakura…" he said sadly, eyes tearing up momentarily. He wiped them away furiously, then his face was angry.

"What have you done?" Naruto yelled in his loudest voice.

Orochimaru and I both raised our eyes from the girl on the floor to look at Naruto. I looked at him sadly.

"This isn't what it looks like, Naruto." I said quietly and calmly. I needed to get out of here.

"Kakashi?" Orochimaru hissed, then laughed. "Boy, this is exactly what it looks like! Your sensei killed the girl for right to his own freedom!"

Naruto's rage faltered for a split second and I could tell he had to work to mask his pain. My jaw twitched. This was all my fault. I should be the one bleeding on the ground, not Sakura.

"I'll kill you." Naruto growled. "I'll kill you right now!"

I quickly stooped and took Sakura's limp form into my arms. I looked to Orochimaru. "I'm burying her at the memorial in Konoha," I ground out. "She deserves a proper funeral. I'll be back to kill you."

Orochimaru cackled and disappeared, apparently happy with himself.

With a glance at Naruto, I disappeared into a cloud of smoke as well.

I appeared in a forest by the memorial. I leaned Sakura against a tree and tried to work as quickly as I could, not being a medic-nin. I pressed my hand to her heart, after 30 seconds I felt a very weak beat under my hand.

I shot chakra into her immediately; I knew enough to seal the gash she had created to stem the blood flow, and enough to get her heart beating more frequently.

Tsunade was home. She gasped when she saw Sakura looking nearly dead in my arms. She immediately opened the door and disappeared into her foyer closet and started grabbing supplies inside as she directed me what to do.

"Lay her on the bed in the guest room upstairs; try to expose the cut more for me; how long has she been unconscious?"

"Um," I paused on the stairs. "Ten minutes?"

"Damn!" Tsunade growled. "This will be a fight. We're lucky she's alive."

"I know." I said sadly, looking again at the petite girl in my arms before laying her gently on the bed, working quickly to pull off her red uniform. I didn't even think about the fact she was now just laying on Tsunade's bed with just a bra and shorts on.

"This was a skillful cut." Tsunade said quietly. "Whoever did it knew what they were doing; they hit every vital organ in their path… intended to kill."

"I know…" I said sadly, shaking slightly.

I watched as Tsunade's hands moved over Sakura's abdomen, and I gently pressed my hand to her chest with the lightest of pressures. A stronger beat.

"She's lost a lot of blood… what happened to her?" Tsunade asked in a soft voice.

"She… did this to herself." I choked out. My voice broke.

Tsunade gasped. "Why on earth…"

"It's all my fault." I shook my head lowly, my silver bangs concealing my visible eye.

"What did you do?" Tsunade asked suspiciously.

"I told her I didn't love her."

Tsunade inhaled sharply, momentarily distracted fro Sakura. "Kakashi…" she said sadly. "That girl she… she loved you with all her heart… when did she tell you?"

"After Orochimaru put us against each other in a fight to the death for freedom. I had attacked her and she just took it, she didn't fight back. I asked her angrily why didn't she fight and she said she wanted me to be free… because she loved me."

"And you threw it back in her face." Tsunade looked at the unconscious girl on the bed with sad eyes. "She… when she was my apprentice… she spoke of you every day."

"Hmm."

"She told me how, say, you smiled at her that morning and it was enough to make her smile for the rest of the day. She would giggle and tell me how she going "butterflies" when you said her name… Then there were days she'd come here from training, crying her eyes out because she didn't think she was good enough… Days you would say something that hurt her feelings, she would be trembling in the corner, unable to perform simple Justus of medicine. It was enough to make me curse your name…" She smiled weakly. "She knew she wasn't what you wanted so she instead settled for loving you for the past two years… She was a wreck most of the time, fidgeting while she worked and barely making conversation… I remember hearing her sob and cry herself to sleep the majority of nights… I finally convinced her maybe telling you was what was best… I didn't think she would but I guess she took my advice... Look what it got her…" A lone tear ran down Tsunade's cheek. "She must feel so… so…"

"I know." I said sadly. "But you have my word Tsunade; I'll stay by her side and make this right, I promise."

She was already at the door, she turned to face me, more tears in her eyes.

"I hope so Kakashi…" she said quietly. "I hope so…"

*****

My mind fluttered through a haze. Strangely, I could feel everything. For death, this was surprisingly painful. I could feel the gash I created in my stomach still; I was aware it was throbbing. Blood pounded in my ears, but one sound drowned it all out.

One thump. A heartbeat.

I was alive.

My heart thumped again as memories began to wash over me in waves. I remember… he said he didn't love me… that he couldn't ever love me… I stabbed myself… the blood… the pain of the wound mixed with the pain of rejection…

He must have saved me.

The thought alone was enough to make me want to cry. Couldn't he see the pain on my face? Hear the crack in my voice when I asked why he couldn't return my love? Couldn't he see I was trying to make it stop? Couldn't he see I desired death? He must have felt an obligation, because I was his comrade, his friend (I thought).

Well not anymore.

I knew he'd be watching me, waiting for me to wake up. If not him then somebody else. I peeked through my eyelashes, not prepared for the sight that met me.

The silver haired jounin was sitting in a chair beside my bed, and he was leaning down with his arms crossed and his head down on the mattress. On my legs. He appeared to be sleeping.

I tried not to blush as hard as I tried not to let the tears leak down my cheeks. It broke my heart to look at him. I had to leave here. I knew he was waiting for me to awaken and if he knew I was awake he would make me talk to him, or at least make me stay to talk to me… I couldn't give him that; my heart wouldn't take it.

So then I closed my eyes and waited. He had to go to the bathroom sometime.

I was almost asleep again before he made the slightest move towards getting up. He hand that was resting on my leg under his arm on top of the blankets twitched. Then he got up slowly and came to stand by my head. I could hear his hand ruffle through his hair.

"Um," he sounded uncomfortable, thinking he was talking to an unconscious body. "Be right back Sakura."

I hated the way he said my name, like he didn't want to be here. Like he didn't want to come back.

Like he didn't love me.

It felt like I had just been stabbed in the chest again. I controlled myself enough so I wouldn't sob out loud, it would surely alert him of my awakened state.

After a few seconds I heard his feet lightly scuffing the floor as he made his way to the bathroom. A door closed inside the room. An adjoined bathroom.

I had to act fast.

As quickly and quietly as I could I slipped off the bed underneath the sheet and got aware of my surroundings. I was in the guest room at Tsunade's house, the room that was mine as her apprentice. I realized I had no shirt on, and I blushed, knowing he had seen me like this made me feel self-conscious. I spotted my red top lying on the floor and slid into it, ignoring the tear on the front that gave a perfect view of a very pink scar going from my stomach to my rib cage. I touched it and winced, still tender.

My eyes flashed up to the other side of the room, where I could suddenly hear water running behind a closed door.

I didn't know how much chakra I had, but I knew I was low and couldn't risk trying to use teleportation jutsu.

I slid the window open and stepped out onto the roof. I looked at the ground and decided it would be more save to travel on the ground than on the rooftops. I closed my eyes and jumped, landing on the ground a storey and a half below. I whimpered and fell over, not having braced myself. Doing a quick assessment and finding no broken bones, I got to my feet and forced what little chakra I had into my legs. I stopped at my house briefly to pack a bag, and in less than five minutes I was running as fast as I could go towards the forest, on the only path leading out of the village.

Then, with a broken heart in pain, a love forever lost, and tears, hot and wet running down my cheeks, I fled Konoha under the cover of nightfall.

---

Ooooh, how was that?


	3. Chapter 3

Short chapter I know, but it actually is short and I have way more handwritten I promise! Just I didn't want to type out two chapters and post them at once. However, if demand seems high I will write the second chapter and have it out by monday evening, as I don't actually have to write any more yet, I'm just needing to type out the 23 and 1/2 pages I have handwritten for you guys. Thanks for the reviews and favorites I have received so far, didn't expect many people would like it ^ - but I'm glad I'm wrong.

Sorry for the long A/N and I will post the next chapter soon.

~Belle

When I went back into Tsunade's guest room, it was empty; the sheets were neatly made; the red uniform that I had tossed on the floor was gone. Did I miss something? Had she woken up? I disappeared in a small cloud of smoke and leaves and appeared in Tsunade's kitchen. Nothing. I leaned into the living room and Tsunade looked up from her book and tea.

"Yo." I said, my one visible eye creasing. "Is Sakura down here?"

She became confused. "No… is she not upstairs?"

"No…" I trailed off, already on the way back up the stairs.

Tsunade and I searched the room thoroughly and I Tsunade gasped from the bedroom while I was checking the bathroom.

I was there instantly. "What is it?"

"I'm afraid Sakura's left…" she said softly, a lone tear falling down her right cheek. She brushed it away impatiently.

"I'll go get her." I said firmly.

"No…" Tsunade's voice cracked. "She's left the village." I looked at the paper in her hand. It had a few drops of dried wetness on it.

_Tsunade,_

_I'm sorry I couldn't stay to train under you longer, but I couldn't stay. You understand. I'm leaving the village. I doubt I'll be back. Tell Naruto I'm sorry, I never meant to be like Sasuke. -__Tell Kakashi I lo- (A/N Supposed to be strikethrough)__ I'll miss you two._

_Love, Sakura_

"How badly did you hurt her Kakashi." He voice didn't make it sound like a question. Tsunade crumpled the note.

"Bad…" I said regretfully.

Tsunade looked up at me angrily and just left the room. I disappeared in a bunch of leaves and smoke again. I was at the forest memorial. I sat down against and started thinking. It must have really hurt Sakura to leave too… she wasn't fully healed yet and she probably injured herself more jumping off the roof. My chest hurt. I walked to the training ground outside the Hokage tower where Naruto was training.

"Naruto…" I said calmingly. "We need to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you." He growled.

"She's alive." I said quietly, and his eyes softened.

"What? But I thought—"

"No, she wasn't dead. I saved her, brought her to Tsunade's house."

"How is she?" Naruto asked. "Can I see her?"

I tilted my head so my bangs covered my face. "No one can… she left."

"Left…?" Naruto's face fell.

"Konoha." I whispered, and Naruto took the five steps necessary to make us be standing just a foot apart.

"What happened." It was a statement rather than a question.

"Orochimaru decided to have us fight… 'One lives and goes free so long as the other dies!'" I quoted.

"So you nearly killed Sakura."

"No…" I tried to explain. "She did this… herself."

"I don't believe you." He snarled. "She's not masochistic."

_If she loves me she might as well be._ "No… she told me she loved me…"

"Then she tried to kill herself?!"

I winced. "… Yes. After I told her I couldn't love her back." My bangs fell in front of my eyes again.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Kakashi-sensei…"

"I know." I breathed. "I need to find her." I said numbly. Naruto already knew the rest.

"I'll pack some things and help you."

"No…" I said firmly. "Keep an eye on things here and let me know if you hear anything."

Naruto frowned. He didn't like that idea.

"I just think I need to do this alone."

"I guess… let me help you to get ready at least."

"Okay." I compromised. "Wait here while I go talk to the Hokage and then we can go to my house."

I entered Tsunade's office in the Hokage tower. She looked up and eyed me wearily.

"I'm…" I started uneasily, rubbing my hair behind me head, then dropping my hand quickly. "I'm going to go find her." I sighed. "I promised you I would make this right. I need to talk to her."

Tsunade regarded me carefully. She nodded curtly and went back to her work.

I went and stood in front of her desk. "I'm sorry, Tsunade." I said quietly.

She nodded again and Shizune walked to the door and opened it, meaning I was dismissed. I left the office but when I got to the door I turned and looked back at Tsunade.

"I promise I'll bring her back Tsunade… I promise."

---

So where do you think Sakura went?


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you for the reviews, favorites and comments I've been getting lately. You know, really should be like MS word, a lot of my stuff doesnt upload well and this causes the need for more editing. -_-' Alas, what can you do eh? I know! Keep pointing out my mistakes! ^ -

~ Belle

I was wearing the short, light brown hooded cloak I had brought with me. I fastened it at my neck and put the hood up to hide my face. I was nearing my destination. The sun was coming over the horizon and I knew I wouldn't have the cover of darkness much longer.

Hurrying myself along I finally could see the end of the thick forest. I sighed against a large tree as I was suddenly overcome with a hard wave of vertigo.

The fatigue of not eating was catching up with me. I hadn't eaten since I'd left Konoha and I was weary from travelling. I drew my knees up to my chest and hugged them, laying my forehead against them and breathing deeply. I felt waves of pain start to lap at my chest again and I sat up and held my middle, holding myself together. My fingers absently started running up and down the slight lump in my uniform where I had stitched the tear together. I felt tears in my eyes and shakily got to my feet and rubbed them away angrily. I did my cloak up again and this time, jumping on a tree branch several feet up, I continued on my journey, speeding towards the end of the forest.

I reached the end about two minutes later; I jumped to the ground and hesitated in the shade of the trees for a moment. The sun was warm on my sandaled feet; I could feel the sun about to my knees, the rest of me still concealed by the shade. Sand whirled between my toes, and I looked up to see the desert town in front of me.

I was in Suna.

I walked through town with my head down, knowing people would be looking at me quizzically in regards to the leaf symbol on my headband and the absence of a sand gourd on my back. Leaf-nin did not often visit the sand village.

I finally made it to the Kazekage tower – I'd have to be careful about this.

I made my way over to the two jounin guarding the door. My hood was up and the shadow of my bangs covered most of my face.

"I…" I began quietly. "I need to see the Kazekage."

"Sorry Miss…" one of them began. "He's gone out—"

"Is something the matter?" a low voice asked politely. I looked down farther, trying to stem the tears that were attempting to fall at the reminder of the jounin uniform in front of me.

"Yeah, this girl just wants to get in to see you…" the other trailed off.

A warm hand was on my shoulder trying to turn me around. I turned to face Suna's Kazekage and I looked up so Gaara could see my face. His eyes widened substantially at what he saw.

"Sakura…" he whispered in recognition. Quickly regaining his composure, he addressed the jounins. "She is my guest. I will go with her to my office where I am not to be disturbed. The Hokage is not to know she is here."

The jounins nodded and stepped aside. Gaara took my hand and gently pulled me along.

"Come on… " He said quietly. "We can talk inside."

He carefully walked me through the building, glancing behind himself frequently to look at me anxiously. We reached the 7th floor and he opened a door and let me into a very large room with windows that covered the walls; sliding glass door at the back led to an enormous ledge of a porch that gave an excellent view of the city. I heard Gaara shut the door behind us and I sank to me knees and broke inside, letting all the tears I had been holding in from the night before go flooding down my face.

Gaara came and knelt in front of me and slowly wrapped his arms around my shoulders and gently pulled me against his chest. I just kept crying into his shirt, and he let me have his shoulder. He held me out and looked at me.

"You need some rest." I nodded. "Let's go to my house. We can talk once you've had some sleep." I nodded again as Gaara took my hand and led me out of the tower again.

We were walking through town and he had let go of me so we could walk side be side. We didn't speak, but the silence was comfortable.

We finally reached a large house surrounded by a large portion of land towards the outside of the village. Gaara turned back to look at me and saw that I had my hood up again. He sighed.

"Why… Why do you hide your face?" His deep voice asked sadly.

"Because…" I began, "Because I don't want to show it."

"You have no need to hide your face here." He said, eyes burning with sincerity. "Don't be afraid."

As if hesitating to guess my reaction, he paused for a second, then reached around the back of my head and gently tugged my hood down, exposing my red-rimmed eyes to the sun. I met his eyes, eyes that were examining me with concern.

"You look like you haven't slept in days…" he said quietly.

"I haven't slept since I left Konoha." I whispered. "It took me three days to get here."

He brought me into his home and set me up in the guest wing of his large house. It was obviously meant for several guests; it had six bedrooms with built-in bathrooms; but since I was the only guest, it felt rather lonely.

Gaara took one last look at me and left the room, saying something about where I could go if I wanted food when I got up. I doubted I would, even though I had barely eaten in three days as well.

Drawing the blinds, I changed into something more comfortable clothed and dropped onto the bed. it wasn't long before the ripping pain started.

And then, alone, tired, and in a village three days from Konoha, I cried myself to sleep.

--

Upon reading this right now I see there is a discrepancy. Sakura WAS indeed travelling for three days, she left at night and arrived on the dawn of the third day. I know going that long without sleep is a little unrealistic but whatever. Gaara is in this chapter as she is in Suna! How many of you are Gaara fans?


	5. Chapter 5

Ok I know this is a REALLY short chapter but there's a few of them like that (the written copy has about 30 chapters now) and so when this happens I will upload 2 chapters for you guys! Ok? So the next one will be on shortly! ^ - Thanks for the feedback I've been getting so far, it suprisingly makes my day somewhat. Does that make me a loser?

~ Belle

I wasn't sleeping again, even though I knew it would be advisable, since I was leaving in the morning, but I was just sitting on my roof talking with Naruto.

"Where do you suppose she would be?" I asked him. He would know her best.

He frowned at my attempt at a detached tone and looked into my one visible eye.

"I honestly don't know, or I would have left already." He said darkly. "But, even if you find her, I doubt she'll want to come back, especially with you."

I deserved that.

"I promised Tsunade I would bring her back." I said firmly. "So that is what my mission is."

"Why do you even want to bring her back?" Naruto asked bluntly. "It's not like you could make her stay here. She'd be miserable. Hell, she'd be gone again by the end of one week! I don't want you to do that to her, Kakashi-sensei."

I deserved that too.

"I need to talk to her, at the very least."

Naruto considered this for a moment. He also knew I needed to do this.

I couldn't leave things like they were with her.

"I'm going home." He said, rubbing a hand through his blonde hair. "Have a good mission, and good luck."

I nodded and watched as he jumped from roof to roof, eventually disappearing from my sight. I slid in my window and closed it. I would spend the rest of the day preparing for my journey tomorrow; it was still early in the morning. I was going to spend most of today at my house planning my mission. If sleep came to me tonight, I would be lucky.

--

P.S. Sorry for going so long without updating, I decided to nuke my own hard drive. I'm smart. Well it WAS intentional, just took me longer to rework my system than I thought. But never fear there are but a few computer problems I can't actually fix ;)


	6. Chapter 6

As promised, here is the other short chapter. The next couple of chapters are 6 written pages, so I'll probably put those up at the same time too. I recently got into the manga, Zero no Tsukaima, and it's pretty good! No fanfics for it though. I have an idea for a SakuSasu fic after this, but that's a long way away and I'm not a HUGE fan of Sasuke, but he's alright I guess. Depending on my motivation I might update again tomorrow, if not then by the end of the week for sure. Peace!

~ Belle

I was disoriented when I awoke, stiff too. It felt like I had slept for a long time. I checked outside the window and the sun had just set; it was early evening.

I poked my head outside the bedroom door and it was silent. The members of the house must have retreated to their rooms for the evening.

I went to the window and sat on the roof outside and let the cool evening wind blow through my hair. I put my head on my knees after I had drawn them up to my chest, and watched the rest of the sunset disappear.

The silence was broken by the familiar voice echoing in my head.

"_I could never love someone like you."_

My battered heart missed another beat, and the shock of the clarity of the voice made me gasp. Tears were flooding down my face immediately and I was shuddering in the evening air.

"Sakura." Gaara's voice surprised me from the other side of the roof.

I leapt to my feet, wiping the tears away, "I'm sorry," I said quickly. "I didn't mean to disturb—"

"No, I wasn't disturbed. Actually, I was waiting for you to awaken so I could ask why you're in such a state."

"Oh." I said lamely as I sat down again, motioning for him to sit beside me. "Come on," I said resignedly, "it's a long story."

He silently sat at my side, and though we were both looking towards the now rising moon, he inclined his head slightly towards me, showing he was listening. He remained quiet, waiting for me to start.

I took a deep breath. "I was taken hostage by Orochimaru, with… Kakashi." My voice broke and his name burned my throat a little on the way out. "He decided he would let one of us go… so long as the other… died." I finished in a whisper. "He… he attacked me and I didn't fight… he wanted to know why I wasn't fighting. I told him…" my voice broke off and I fought back a sob. "I-I told him I loved him." Gaara was quiet. The silence went on until he asked a question.

"What did he do to you, Sakura?" Gaara asked quietly.

"He told me he didn't love me," I said sadly, "that he could never love… someone like me." I put my face in my hands and the tears started falling again.

"You didn't do anything… drastic, did you?" I looked at him darkly, then stood up and lifted my shirt so he could see my abdomen, and with it, my ugly scar. Gaara's eyes widened by a fraction of a centimeter.

"I tried." I said bitterly. "But he saved me. Brought me back. I woke up at Tsunade's house. I couldn't face him. I didn't want to be around anymore; the sight of him alone makes me want to cry… so I left." The stem of tears flooded down my face again. "I left Konoha in the misled of the night; that was when I woke up." I looked at the now risen moon. Gaara was looking there too, as if in thought.

"My deepest apologies, Sakura." He said gravely, hesitantly putting his arm around me. I leaned into his chest as more tears leaked down my face. After a few moments I drew back and met his eyes. They were full of sympathy. They turned scrutinizing. "You still look quite tired…"

"I am." I admitted. "I think I'll go back to bed." I slowly got to my feet, stumbling. Gaara caught my arm before I fell right off the roof. He helped me in my window and I shut it, watching him disappear in a swirl of sand.

I lay back down on the bed, and drowsiness hits me immediately, as does the pain. I decided I'd stop trying to hold it all in. Since I was the only one in this wing of the house, I let it all out, sobbing noisily as the noises and pain ripped through my chest; I welcomed the pain freely. I eventually cried myself dry, and I just lay there, numb. My breathing kept hitching and my heart beat erratically, almost hyperventilation. I waited until I returned to a state of exhausted calm. I closed my eyes, and eventually I drifted…

--

Some say Sakura cries to much, but I think if she's this much in love it makes sense for her to go through that kind of pain. What do you think?


	7. Chapter 7

Wow... it's been pretty quiet with you readers lately... But it doesn't matter I guess, I'm still KIND OF getting hits.... Again, short chapter, another piece coming soon.

~ Belle.

It was dawn. I put the last couple of things in my pack and headed down the only path out of Konoha, wondering where I would start. It had been about 4 days now, she could be long gone.

I adjusted my headband and I felt a presence in the tree above me. I looked up. Naruto was in the tree, looking away from Konoha, into the forest.

"You know," he said suddenly, not moving his head, "I've been waiting here every night, all night, waiting for her to come back."

I waited in silence. He continued.

"It's been almost 4 days."

I stayed quiet.

"She's not coming back."

I looked at my feet guiltily.

"And it hurts me to know I can't help her, that she might be off in some village alone in an alley somewhere crying…" he paused. "…and nobody's there to help her."

"I'm going to help her." I said firmly.

He looked down at me slowly, saying nothing. He looked skeptical.

"I'm going to make this right," I said quietly. "I'll bring her back for you, Naruto."

"Is that all?" he asked. "Does she mean nothing to you?"

I flinched.

"Have a good mission, Kakashi-sensei." He jumped to another couple of trees and then to the ground, going back towards Konoha.

I thought for a minute about where I would go—and then it suddenly dawned on me where she would be.

--

Heh heh. He finally clued in!


	8. Chapter 8

Next section as promised. I'm going to drive my brother to work now, and if I have a review or two I'll add another section yet tonight. Love.

~ Belle

I was in Gaara's kitchen with him walking around idly. I didn't really want food. He sat down with a cup of tea, sipping it, his eyes finally coming to rest on me.

"You need to eat, Sakura." He said quietly.

I walked over to the window and stared into the sunny day outside, sighing. I eyed the forest on the other side of Suna, not from where I came.

"I don't want to eat."

"At least have a drink." He said deeply, motioning to the teapot. "… if nothing else."

Reluctantly, I sat at the table across from him and allowed him to pour me a cup. I ran my finger around the rim of it slowly.

"Something the matter, Sakura?"

"I've been thinking…" I started. "I don't know how long I'll be here, but while I am I need to do something in exchange for your hospitality. Do you have a medical center in the Kazekage tower?"

He nodded politely.

"Let me be of help to you," I said. "I'm a medic. I'll work there."

"I'll make the necessary arrangements." He said calmly. "Are you sure you're able?"

"I have to be," I said. "I can't be useless like this forever."

"Don't rush yourself." He warned.

We cleaned up and made the journey to the Kazekage tower.

"Gaara," I began as we entered his office, "I'm scared."

"Why?" he asked. "No one in Suna will harm you."

"I know…" I sighed. "but I left Konoha… I'm a missing-nin now."

He looked down at his paperwork as I started trembling.

"They could send someone after me." I whispered. "They could _kill_ me."

"You will be protected as a citizen of Suna." Gaara said firmly. "You are my guest, and I am aware of your circumstances. You have Suna's full protection." He looked up into my eyes. "Don't be afraid."

"Thank you, Gaara." I said gratefully. "Care to show me to the medical wing?"

He nodded and walked back to the door, opening it for me. "This way," he said gently, "I'll introduce you to Suna's best medic." We walked down the hall to another door.

He waited inside and let me enter behind him, and he gestured to the room in front of him.

"This is not the main hospital; this is just the wing in the tower. You'll mostly just get genin, chuunin, and jounin here."

"I see." I said as I glanced around, trying to get into a work state of mind.

"This is our head medic; you probably know her." Gaara smiled at me and I looked up.

"Temari!" I exclaimed, jumping at her and hugging her from behind.

She gasped and turned around, first looking to Gaara, and then to me, returning my embrace.

"Sakura," she began, "what…?"

"The details are not important." Gaara said to his sister. "But as long as Sakura is with us she has volunteered to help in the medical wing."

"Of course!" Temari's eyes curved up. "Glad to have you, Sakura!"

"I'm sure you two will be fine," Gaara said, looking to both of us. "I'll be in the other room if you need me Sakura, Temari." He exited the room and shut the door. I turned to Temari.

"Where's Kankuro these days?"

"Oh," she said happily, "He's visiting in the Sound village."

"Alright then, what can I do?" It seemed to matter how much expression I tried to force into my voice, none ever reached anybody's ears.

"…what can you handle?" she asked slowly.

"…I'm not sure." My hands shook.

"Why are you here, Sakura?" Temari asked gently. "We can talk, the wing's empty right now."

I went and sat on one of the patient beds; the sun was shining on me through the window. Temari sat beside me.

And I told her everything.

"Sakura," Temari embraced me sideways. A couple of tears from me cheeks fell past my concealed face and onto my hands. My hands twitched slightly. "… I'm so sorry."

"It's ok." I whispered. "I'm fine."

"No…" she said. "You're not."

"I have to be!" I choked. "I need to be available to help people!"

"How can you be expected to help others when you can't even help yourself?" She gently ran her fingers along the hand sewn part of my uniform. "Your scar can be fixed."

"I know," I said. "If I wanted to fix it I would have." I sighed. "I need a visual reminder of how he's hurt me."

"You don't need to carry this burden, Sakura." Temari was almost pleading with me. She put her arm around me again.

"Thank you, Temari." I said quietly.

"Do you want to stay?"

"I can't heal others, but I can do paperwork and chart work if nothing else."

"Okay." Temari whispered. "Do your best."

A couple days later, I had settled into a new groove. I had moved forward, or at least, I was trying. I stayed at Gaara's, worked with Temari, and was beginning to adjust to my new life in Suna.

--

Can't remember the name of the sound village, any of you know?


	9. Chapter 9

Alright, so I'm wanting input after this chapter. I have a group of people at the anime club at school that are EXTREMELY enthusiastic about my story, and bug me every day to write new chapters, but I update them online instead xD So I want to know how many are wanting me to keep updating, a roundabout number because if it's only a couple I'll write for them instead of update for the site, since I only have about 7 pages of the written story left, and I need to start writing soon anyway. So readers, drop a review or whatever if you're interested in me keeping the story going and I'll gladly keep forcing my lazy arse to type out my fic for you guys xD So, that's about it, sorry for the long long long long A/N this time, xD and as a special bonus I MIGHT just update again later today if I get time, but I might end up not being able to. Anyways, I expect to be able to publish about 5 more chapters before I need to write, so if I update again today I'll be spacing them out until I get ahead with the written pages xD Anywho, ttyouzl!

~ Belle

It had been exactly three days since I had started travelling. I could see my destination nearing at the end of the forest. I would be there any minute.

She had to be here. It was the only place that would make sense.

I landed at the edge of the forest and took my first step into the city.

Suna.

*****

"Sakura!" Temari burst into the office, startling me.

"W-what is it?" I asked.

"He's here." She whispered. I froze.

"Gaara wants to see you." Temari was pulling my arm then, leading me down the hall. My heart was pounding in fear. He was sent to kill me.

We entered Gaara's office and Temari sat me down on his couch and held my right hand in both of hers. I willed it to stop shaking. It wouldn't. Gaara came around from his desk and knelt in front of me.

"Sakura," he began, "I understand how you're feeling at this moment, but you don't need to be afraid. Whether he is here to terminate you as a missing-nin or otherwise, until we are sure of his intentions we are not allowing him near you. Understood?"

I nodded feebly.

"Furthermore," he continued in his deep voice, "with that being said I have two options I can offer you. Temari and I are going down into the village to locate him and determine his motives. While we do, you can remain here, under armed guard, until we return. My office is the most secure place in the village. Or, your other option is to get back to my house, pack some things, and escape the city and allow us to track you so we can alert you when it is safe to return."

"I-I-I need to leave." I tried to say through my anxiety, voice breaking.

"Alright." Gaara stood and motioned to the door. I began to walk to the door when he stopped me. "Sakura, wait…" he said quietly. Temari slipped through and went across the hall. "Here," He murmured, pulling out a small pin with a cherry blossom on the bend of it. "It has some of my chakra infused into it. I'll be able to find you again by following my chakra." He gently pushed some of my hair to the left side and pinned it there. "Be safe Sakura; I'll find you again." He pulled me into his arms and I felt him carefully patting my back. I hugged him back and then he released me and walked to the door.

"Coming?" he asked, holding the door.

I put my beige cloak on again and fastened it at the hollow of my neck. "No," I laughed softly, walking towards the balcony, "I think I'll take the window." I looked back at him and net his eyes as I pulled my hood up so the shadow concealed the top half of my face. I knew he could see me grin half-heartedly because he smiled back, and then I turned and ran the necessary paces, and jumped…

Later, once I had gathered a small pack of things, I left Gaara's carefully, looking both ways and then darting for the forest out of Suna. I was about 50 feet from the forest when I slowed to a walk. Sand blew in front of me and I froze, looking slightly to see the sandaled feet of a jounin.

"Well what do we have here?"

--

Who can make sense of her meeting a jounin on the exiting side of Suna?


	10. Chapter 10

I know I haven't updated in a while, but I've been enjoying March Break ;3. Thank you for the reviews, they keep me going to post online. I did write some more though, so this story has about 6 more pages I can type out. But that's not the end of the story! I will end it sooner or later based on the feedback, but if the anime club at school is any representation, I think this story will be quite a bit longer. So anyway, enjoy this segment!

~ Belle

I was slightly worried by the way she kept her head down and didn't look at me. I knew it was her—I could see some of her pink hair underneath the shadow covering most of her face, caused by her hood on her cloak. I was also worried by the way she covered her face. Had she begun to doubt she was beautiful..?

I guess I helped form that doubt.

"Sakura." I said her name with recognition and she flinched like I'd attacked her. She wouldn't look at me either; I supposed the sight of me caused her pain as well.

I guess that's my fault too.

I inhaled slowly. I should leave. I couldn't help her. I was only causing her pain.

No. I have to do this.

She shook her head and kept looking down. I blurred from my current spot and appeared behind her.

*****

He was behind me, and I was waiting to see his chidori come through my heart.

It never did.

"Sakura…" he said my name again and my breathing hitched and broke. I felt a pinch in my hair and I realized my hood was slowly being pulled down.

Without warning I leapt away from him, causing my hood to fall anyway as I jumped into the forest ahead of my, leaping from branch to branch before landing once one the ground; he landed in front of me.

I stopped, and my heart became cold.

*****

She tried to run again. She was afraid of me. I wasn't letting her run this time. I had to make it up to her. She was still looking down, not allowing me to see her face.

"Kill me…" she rasped, her first words to me.

So that was a part of it too. She thought I was sent here to terminate her as a missing-nin. Didn't she know I couldn't?

I gently cupper her chin in both of my hands, ready to tell her I was not here to kill her. I coaxed her face up and she hesitantly brought her eyes to mine.

I wasn't prepared for what I saw. I looked into her eyes and immediately knew it would be one of those things that haunted me. Her rich green eyes were empty; all color had left them, having dulled them to a dark color. All of her sparkle, too, had gone, and her eyes looked like empty tunnels. I noticed her eyes had dark circles under them, accented by a tinge of red. I then noticed she had gone back to looking at her feet, because I by now had dropped my hands and taken a step back in shock.

She looked into my eyes again and I got another full dose of what I had done. She looked at me sadly, even, though she regretted being in my presence. She probably did.

No amount of anything justified causing her this much pain.

It was like I was looking into the eyes of death itself.

The guilt rippled through me as I wondered what she had done in the last couple of days. She stayed silent, and I didn't know what to say anymore. "Sorry" no longer seemed like enough…

*****

I averted my eyes from him, which were now scrutinizing me with such a power I felt self conscious.

I must have looked pretty hideous; when I first met his eyes it widened substantially and he took a step back in shock.

I was still watching him blurrily through my eyelashes as his eye roamed over the rest of my body and stopped on my abdomen where I knew he was seeing the hand sewn area that hid my scar. His eye widened again and he took half a step forward and I crossed my arms over my stomach.

"Sakura…" he began differently this time, a tone much more gentle than any I've ever heard him use.

I took a step backwards and nearly tripped. I righted myself before I fell.

"Why… Why did you come here?" I asked in a whisper.

"I needed to find you." He answered simply, and then continued. "It was a smart idea to exit on this side of Suna, but I knew you would go this way so I came around and entered Suna on this side. You friends are busy in town pursuing a shadow clone." He smiled a small smile I somewhat managed to make out through his mask.

"Well, you've found me." My voice broke. The pain in my chest was a steady stinging coming from inside my ribs and I could feel the moisture behind my eyes but I blinked it away quickly. I was not going to cry in front of him. "It's okay. I won't fight." I whispered.

The sound of surrender on my lips sounded pitiful to my ears, and I knew it would to his, too. The truth was I'd given up on living almost a week ago. He was my life, and it didn't matter to me what happened to me anymore now that I knew he didn't care. There is a very fine line between living and being alive, and I knew what side I was on.

The urge to fall to my knees and cry was strong, but I didn't do it. I didn't want him to think me more weak than I already was.

I find it slightly humorous how I know he'll never care about me, yet I still care what he thinks.

I sighed and looked down, waiting for my demise.

I could hear him moving and I closed my eyes and tried not to think about what he was doing, and in a way hoping he would take pity on me and do it quickly.

I've suffered long enough.

I flinched when I suddenly felt his arms wrap around me, strangely gentle for an attack.

I know I said it was okay, but I was still afraid. I couldn't keep myself from shaking uncontrollably, willing my knees not to give out so I could remain standing.

I was trembling so hard it felt like I was having a seizure, but my eyes remained dry. It was unlike any other feeling I've ever had, knowing I was about to die. It felt like I was about to have a weight lifted off my shoulders, and I was at peace with the fact that the one I loved was about to kill me. I scrunched my eyes closed and waited for the final blow, willing the shaking to stop.

He dragged me closer to him. _Here it comes, _I thought. _This is the end…_

He lowered his face so that his masked lips were at my ear. This moisture finally beaded at the corners of my eyes and ran down in two tiny trails down my cheeks.

"Calm down," he said softly. "I'm not here to kill you."

I was torn between feelings of relief and distress. He didn't kill me.

But I was still alive.

I was still looking down, the shadow created by my bangs concealing the top of my face. He went to resting his cheek on my hair, gently crushing me against his chest.

I was still shaking slightly, in his embrace. The pain in my chest had turned to a throbbing agony, my heart beating out a jagged, uneven, and disjointed rhythm while he hugged me.

My arms hung limply by my sides, and I was unable to hug him back. I just stood there, and a couple more tears escaped my eyes and fell to the forest floor.

He gently started running his hand up and down my back, trying to soothe me. But my heart rate wouldn't slow. My breathing hitched and broke.

He was doing this out of guilt, I suddenly realized. If he wasn't here to terminate me, he must have just come to check up on me, and then go home, content with the knowledge that I was okay.

Or maybe Tsunade sent him, because she'd want to know as well.

Then he was doing this out of obligation.

Suddenly I felt even less important.

Why was he here?

As if he heard me, he drew away, still holding my upper arms. I guess he, too, sensed I was unstable.

"I need to talk to you." He said. I looked at him and I saw an emotion flash across his face too quickly for me to identify it. I looked down again, ashamed of my appearance. He took my chin between his thumb and index finger and lifted my head up again.

"Don't look away." He somewhat pleaded. "Why did you leave Konoha?"

I felt some of the like drain out of me a little bit and I choked back a sob.

"I couldn't stay."

"Why not?"

"You of all people should know!" I choked, half strangled.

"Sakura," he began sadly. "You don't understand."

"No, I do." I said just as sadly. "You've made yourself perfectly clear."

He finally drew away from hugging me and saw that my hands were clenched and my lip was trembling.

--

What do you think will happen now?


	11. Chapter 11

I hope you guys are happy, I stated up until 1:34 am typing this all out, I think I'm going to get carpal tunnel o.0 Thanks to computer programming, and english... ugh. For those who think I'm not updating fast enough, it's going to be slower soon I'm afraid. I'm running out of story (Yes, this means I actually have to start writing it again) and the translation from page to screen is going to take longer because of this. Also, one of my courses at school is sufferering, and I need to get my mark up in it so I might start neglecting this a little. But all in all, I'm going to keep it going, you're just going to have to be patient with me. But when summer gets here, I can update every week if you guys want ^ - Thank you to my readers who leave review, and you guys should thank my friend Patty, who encourages (aka threateningly demands :p jk Patty, promise ) me to write everyday and tells me my story is worth writing. BIG STORY SPOILER, there is going to be some romance too for those noticing it's kind of not there yet lol I'm kind of beating around the bush writing it... Kakashi style '^ - ... but this is going to be quite a long story so that stuff will come later, and before anyone asks... I'm not writing smut. :p Anyways! I'm going to catch some sleep now, and if I get super bored programming tomorrow hows about I write you guys another chapter, ne?

Much Love

~ Belle

She had stopped her violent shaking, and I was relieved at that. I was extremely worried for a moment; did she actually think I would kill her? That I could kill her?

She was still trembling mildly though, and I could tell she was still afraid. I resented that fact.

I'd had enough. I needed to tell her everything, or at easy enough to come back to Konoha with me. She was in enough pain; she'd been miserable long enough.

"Did you ever consider my motives for fighting you?" I asked her. She looked at me confusedly, and then diverted her attention back to the ground. I resisted the urge to make her look at me.

"Freedom, of course." She rasped, he voice barely higher than a whisper. "Why else?"

"In fact," I said quietly, "that was never one of my priorities."

She still appeared confused. I continued. "Sakura," she flinched again, and seeing that pained me, "I know you. And I know you have a temper. I was trying to use it to my advantage."

She looked up at me. "How would my temper help you?"

I half-smiled. "Your temper would help me help you actually, but I failed miserably. I figured I could anger you—it wouldn't be hard—so I could make a loss on my part look more believable."

"I still don't understand," she whispered, "a loss on your part…?"

"I never planned on getting out of Orochimaru's Lair alive."

Her eyes widened slightly, but she was silent. I continued.

"I went on that mission with the intention of taking Orochimaru's life, but things got more complicated when he put us against each other. I couldn't believe how easily you gave up fighting, it angered me that my plan was not functioning the way I'd originally hoped. I wanted to get you to fight above your original level, because I was planning to…"

"lose." She breathed out. And for the first time since I'd reunited with her, I saw a spark of life in her eyes. Maybe now she was beginning to understand…

*****

My mind was clouded, and his voice was making it hard to think. Nothing he was saying was making sense; I was really confused.

"Why… did you want… to… do that?" I stuttered quietly.

He regarded me for a moment, and then looked down to the sewn line on my shirt.

"The very same reason you gave yourself… that." My heart leapt in my chest and began beating unsteadily. "I wanted you to be the one who went free, because…" He paused. For some reason, I wanted to cry.

"Because…" he continued, "As your sensei, it is my responsibility to watch out for you. Team Seven is my responsibility."

So it was obligation. My bangs fell in front of my eyes. I just shook my head slowly and started walking into the forest. I only made it about ten paces before his hand closed around my wrist.

"Sakura—"

"Let go of me." My voice broke on the word "go" as I tried to yank my wrist out of his grasp.

"Where are you going?"

"Away." I choked. "Please."

He dropped my wrist and I was about to keep walking when he wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"L-l-let me go." I said quietly.

"No, I've wanted to do this for a while."

My heart was thumping unsteadily. Now what did he mean by that?

"W-w-what do you want" I stuttered. It didn't sound like a question.

He rested his chin lightly on my shoulder for a second and then whispered,

"You. Come back to Konoha."

"Stop doing that." I struggled to keep my voice steady.

"What?" He feigned confusion.

"What you're doing."

"What am I doing?"

"You think you can sweet-talk anyone…" I mumbled.

"I don't think, I know. Now come back with me."

I opened my mouth to answer but heard a rustle in the leaves behind me and closed my mouth shut abruptly.

It all happened very fast. He let go of me and I felt myself being spun around and my back being pressed against a tree. He stood in front of me, crouching a little.

"Don't… move." He whispered, pulling a kunai slowly out of his thigh holster.

"What are you doing?" I whispered back between rushes of adrenaline.

"There's somebody here. I'm guessing it's—"

I heard a low laugh that sounded like a hiss, and Orochimaru stepped out from the forest.

"Ass, Sakura," he crooned, "last time I saw you," his eyes moved to Kakashi's, "… you were dead. You did very good to save her, Kakashi, too bad it was all in vain!"

I was peeking under Kakashi's arm and I saw Orochimaru lunge toward my face, katana raised. I was frozen in terror and it all seemed to go fast again when Kakashi looked to see what Orochimaru was looking at and saw me under his arm, my face exposed. He shoved me left and took a step six inches to the right, plunging his hand though Orochimaru's heart. I was kneeling about 3 feet from the tree, where Kakashi had pushed me. Both men were still, and I surveyed the situation.

"Chidori." I breathed, recognizing Kakashi's attack. Orochimaru's eyes were open, but the life had gone from them. Dead. The arm that had killed him was quivering and I followed it to its owner and gasped.

Orochimaru's katana was sticking out of Kakashi's back.

I ran to his side as he pulled his hand and arm from Orochimaru and dropped to his knees.

"Don't worry," I said quickly, blinking back tears, "I'm going to heal you. It should be fine, he didn't pierce your heart, and if you're lucky it's possible he didn't even puncture a lung."

"Sakura," his voice was faint. "You don't have—"

"Yes I do, because—" I choked and broke off that sentence. I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

I cautiously put my right arm around him and began to put chakra into him from both sides of the wound, my left hand already putting chakra in through the front. I slowly slid the katana out, sealing the vessels and arteries as I went. I tossed the katana to the side and went about sealing up the skin. I managed to get the skin on the back of the wound to seal easily, but the skin on the front just wouldn't heal. I frantically tried to close it a couple more times before I bent down and got a closer look at it.

"Poison…" I whispered, looking at the tip of the katana lying some 20 feet away. Orochimaru knew him defeating Kakashi was unlikely, so he made sure he only needed to land one hit. As if to confirm my suspicions, Kakashi's head landed on my shoulder and she slumped against me. Whether it was from blood loss or the poison I couldn't tell, but I gently lowered him to the ground into a laying position. Blood still seeped from the wound but I could not see it well enough, so I carefully undid his vest and let it fall to the sides. It was still too concealed, so I lifted his shirt a little. The area was a sickly color and it wouldn't stay closed when I tried to seal the skin. I quickly looked around me to assess my surroundings. There was nothing near me that I could use to make an antidote, and even if there were, I didn't have enough time to make it. I looked at him face, slightly contorted in pain even in unconsciousness. I looked at him sadly, and then replaced it with a look of determination.

I sent green chakra to my hand and lightly pressed my hand against his bare skin. I sighed lightly as I felt the poison in his system. It hadn't travelled to his heart yet. Then I gasped as I realized it was a malevolent poison—the kind that can only be removed if it is transferred to something else. There was no question on what I had to do.

Not removing my hand from him I slowly crawled closer to him and say down beside his waist, and leaned over him cautiously. I closed my eyes and began absorbing the poison out of his bloodstream… and into mine.

It took a while to make sure I got it all, while I was working I noticed the poison start to take effect. It was a chakra drainer. It a ninja loses all their chakra, their heart stops. I had fairly low levels from the medical jutsu, but I had more time than Kakashi did. My eyes starting to feel heavy, I used more of my chakra to seal the wound. It finally closed, and with a faint hiss, the skin folded shut. I smiled in relief, closing my eyes momentarily. I forced them back open and took another look at him. My chakra was extremely low and decreasing by the second, and I was starting to feel it. I carefully pressed my hand to Kakashi's skin again and assessed his chakra levels.

"Yours are even lower than mine…" I whispered, realizing I could do him one last favor.

"You can have some of mine." I smiled again, closing my eyes and lighting my hand green again, beginning the chakra transfer. The poison was burning through my entire system, and a couple beads of sweat formed on my forehead. My blinks were lasting longer and coming more frequently, until my eyes closed one last time and I made no attempt to open them.

--

Anybody mad at me for the imminent slow updates?


	12. Chapter 12

Hey guys! It's me again, back with another chapter. Yes, I've spent a fair bit of time writing. But after this chapter I only have 17 of the 24 pages I've written left!! I have an not-so-anonymous reviewer who knows spoilers DX I know I know not fair but she has the advantage of being geographically close to me O.0 so unless a couple of you are moving... I could let you read the handwritten copy ;) Anywhoo... Yeah it's been a bit, but at least I'm getting some love from you guys lol If a few of you review before the weekend is out there'll be an update this weekend!!! Oooooo!!! *dance* Yeah these A/N's are getting stupider so I'm just going to end mine now. Peace out ya'll and IGNORE THE TYPOS, OH ANONYMOUS REVEIWER WHO IS NOT SO ANONYMOUS!

~ Belle

I opened my eyes quickly and sat up with a start. I saw Orochimaru's body lying some 30 feet away. Yes, I had killed him. I couldn't remember; my head was throbbing. I realized my shirt was untucked and lifted it up to look where a katana wound should be.

Except… there wasn't one.

"Sakura—" I whispered frantically as I noticed her lying on the ground, unconscious, beside me. She whimpered and I took a closer look at her.

She was pale, more than her usual pale, and there were beads of perspiration on her forehead. Her lips were chapped; she looked dehydrated.

Something was wrong with her.

I tested my strength, standing slowly and pulling down my headband to conceal the Sharingan. My chakra levels were low. I glanced at Sakura. _I wonder, _I thought. I pressed my palm to her forehead and sensed her chakra levels. I gasped when I realized they were fatally low, and dropping by the second. Her forehead was burning with fever and she unconsciously shifted away from my hand.

She didn't have long.

I guess Suna would have to be a pit stop. I sighed. This was not going to go well. I got to my knees and gently took Sakura in my arms, grateful Suna was less than a mile away. I took off, hoping I wouldn't encounter any trouble on my way to the Kazekage Tower.

Sakura was breathing unsteadily, and I held her closer.

"It's okay." I tried to soothe her. "We're almost there."

I encountered two jounin outside the tower, who immediately raised their guard when they saw me, and pulled out a kunai when they noticed Sakura in my arms as I got closer.

"State your business!" One of them yelled. "Don't come any closer!"

I jerked my head toward Sakura. "She… needs some medical attention." I cringed internally at my non-chalance.

The other eyed me and took a few steps toward me.

"Very well." He said. "I'll take her."

I assumed since I was foreign they couldn't let me in. I sighed, and then reluctantly handed Sakura over to the jounin.

"What's wrong with her?" The other one yelled. The one holding her looked at me.

"I don't know." I answered honestly. The jounin turned to his partner.

"We're not sure." He called back. "I'll take her to Temari."

So Temari was here. I wonder if she had known Sakura had been in Suna for these last couple days.

The one jounin held open the door for the shinobi holding Sakura. When he went through, the jounin closed the door and stood in front of it.

I waited outside, resigning myself to sitting on the step outside the tower with a sigh. I knew they'd be looking for me.

About 20 minutes had passed when I heard a voice behind me.

"That girl has the most awful luck doesn't she?" The remaining jounin said.

I was instantly intrigued. "Oh, doesn't she?"

"Not in the lease. I was here the day she came."

"When was that?" I asked.

"Hmm… about a week and a half ago now. She came to see Lord Kazekage… she was in a right state."

I felt a pang of guilt. "What was wrong with her?"

"She looked… lost. Lost like a fish out of water. She walked over very slowly, her voice was barely more than a whisper, and her eyes…" He broke off with a shudder. So it wasn't just me that could see it. He continued. "She didn't look upset per sé… just lost, and broken. We didn't find out why she was here, but Lord Kazekage's order is we regard her as a citizen of Suna." He glanced at my headband. "You're from the same village… and idea why she left?"

I was saved from having to answer by Temari clearing her throat over the jounin's shoulder.

"Lord Kazekage wants to see you." She said to him. The jounin nodded and vanished with a puff of smoke and sand.

Temari came and stood in front of me.

"Why are you here." It didn't sound like a question.

"Can I see her?" I asked quietly.

She nodded curtly. "Follow me."

She brought me up several floors and into a room with several other adjoined rooms. The medical wing. I glanced down at some of the paperwork lying on Temari's desk. It was Sakura's handwriting. So, this was what she was doing.

"Yes," Temari said, catching me looking, "that's her handwriting. She did charts and paperwork here… it was the most she could do on a good day…"

"On a good day?"

"She wasn't much good most days." Temari grimaced. "She tried though, and I credit her that much."

"Where is she, anyway?"

"Over here." Temari opened a nearby door and led me into a room attached to the medical unit.

Sakura was lying, white-faced in the bed, unmoving. I strode quickly to her side.

"Sakura…" Her name tumbled out of my mouth like a shaky exhale, quiet but painful.

Temari was about two steps behind me.

"What happened to her?" I asked quietly.

"She was poisoned. It was a malignant chakra-drainer that had lowered her levels to near-death levels. With much difficulty, I removed the poison, and— "

"Difficulty? Why was it difficult?"

"It was malignant." She whispered. "The only way to remove it is to transfer it to something else." She held up a jar. "This is jutsu-infused. It'll be contained in here until we can properly analyze and dispose of it."

I stayed quiet. She continued.

"But from what I can see, she wasn't the one initially poisoned."

My eye widened. "Then… how…"

"My guess is… she absorbed it from you. I can see you were stabbed with a katana through the middle. If it was Orochimaru, it was a poisoned blade. I'm assuming she knew that and decided the only way to save you was to transfer the poison from you… into herself. That would explain why you look so tired. Your chakra levels are low too." She surmised.

I exhaled, and knelt down beside Sakura's bed.

"You little idiot," I murmured. "Why did you—"

"She really cares about you, you know." Temari said grimly. "Also, it looks as though she restored some of your chakra with hers, as well. It doesn't look like she planned to live after having saved you."

I sighed. "No, of course not…"

"Gaara wants to speak with you, also." She said. "You can go, she's going to be at least a week further, until her chakra restores."

I took one more look at Sakura. She looked in pain. _You're so stupid, _I thought over and over again, _why would you save me?_ Thoughts of her working over my bleeding, poisoned body plagued me. _And you planned to die alone, too…_ My chest throbbed at the thought of how I would have felt if I woke up to her dead beside me. _Well now I'm definitely not letting you go without an explanation._ I closed my eyes.

_I'm going to make you see if it's the last thing I do…_

I turned to the medic sand-nin behind me. "Thank you Temari." I walked to the final door of the medical wing to exit. "Come show me to the Kazekage's office." She complied, leading the way to Gaara's office. She stood aside as I made to enter.

"You should come in as well, Temari." She raised an eyebrow. "I have something to explain to both of you…"

She hesitated, and then followed me inside, closing the door behind her.


	13. Chapter 13

Yeah so!!! You thought I was dead but turns out I'm not so here's another thousand or so words for you. I actually have way more than this written out but finding time to type it is my problem... lol... since I updated last this story has actually doubled in size *sweat drop* lol sorry.. I'm trying to get it up quicker but I have so much homework. And! I may have a sporker.... ... If any of you know what that is then you can guess how I feel about that xD So! Most of you have caught on to the POV changes in the story, which proves there IS hope for humanity... but in this chapter I use ellipsises (...) I think I spelled the term wrong but anyway. The (...)s represent a time lapse, and NOT a POV change. Just so nobody gets confused. Because Sakura is unconscious, it's going to be Kakashi POV for another chapter yet. Anyway, again, review if you feel like it I don't really care, the hits counter is what keeps me happy ^ -... but if people are threatening to stalk me if I don't update I might go a bit faster xD but so you know I have 28 hand written pages and that grows every day :D so I'm just trying to help move this story along, because like I said I have an eager fan who hounds me on a nearly daily basis.

Sorry for the huge A/N (I know they're annoying because they piss me off too ^ -) And I'll update again soon I promise.

~ Belle

…

Hours later, I was sitting at Sakura's bedside, alone. The only proof of life still existing in her body was her chest occasionally moving slightly for her lungs to take a shallow breath. I sighed in relief when I saw her chest move again.

I chuckled quietly. "You scared me for a second there," I said. "That was even longer than last time."

I got up and walked out of the room and over to Temari's desk outside Sakura's room, where she was hurriedly moving through mountains of paperwork.

"Having trouble?" My grey eye creased upwards as I smiled a small smile that I knew could not be seen under my mask.

"Yes." She laughed quietly. "Sakura always had this so organized… and with her unconscious it only took a day for everything to fall into ruin." She sighed. "I have a LOT of work to do."

"I'm going to sit with Sakura again." My visible eye creased up again. "Enjoy your paperwork!"

"Kakashi," Temari eyed me, "she's going to be out for a week, let me remind you."

"I know," I sighed. "I just… want to be there for her."

"I don't buy that anymore, Kakashi. Do what you please." She averted her eyes back to her desk.

I stood there a moment, and then I had an epiphany.

"Think Gaara would mind if I talked to him about something?"

"Probably not."

"Okay then, I have some things to take care of. Keep your eye on—"

"I don't NEED, to Kakashi!" she said, her voice rising on the word "need".

"Alright." I smiled one last time before I disappeared in a cloud of smoke and leaves, and reappeared back in Gaara's office. It seemed vacant. I scanned the area until my eye rested on him standing outside on his balcony, arms folded and resting on railing. I walked over to him.

"You're not going to forgive me easily, are you." It sounded like a statement.

"No," he said honestly, "and neither is she. You have hurt her deeply, Kakashi." His voice was in its normal low.

"I know, and I'll never be able to apologize to her enough."

He looked at me and it just made me feel more guilty. It was as if he had suffered almost as much as she had.

"Is that why you're here?" He continued in his deep voice.

"No, actually." I put my hand behind my head and moved some of my silver hair. "I need to ask a favor."

He stayed quiet and waited for me to continue.

"Sakura's going to be out for at least another week, according to your sister." I sighed. "I'd like to use this opportunity to take her back to Konoha."

"That is against her will." He said. "I will not allow it."

"I suspected as much." I said. "But you also now know there is more to the story."

"I do," he agreed. "In which case I order you to inform her of the circumstances, then allow her the choice to return to Konoha."

"But I want her to be in Konoha when she wakes; it will make it harder for her to leave."

"I do want to see her when she wakes up."

"I'll have her under Tsunade's care, and when Tsunade says she is close to waking you can also make the trip to Konoha and you will be there as well."

Gaara stood silent for a long moment.

"Very well. You are permitted to leave the city this evening, no sooner."

"Thank you." Gaara only nodded in response, and then I disappeared into a cloud of leaves and smoke again.

…

"So what's her condition again?" I asked Temari as I was organizing my weapons one last time.

"Chakra exhaustion. To the untrained shinobi, it just looks like she's in a deep sleep, but in truth, it's a very serious condition that needs to be monitored closely."

"So she cannot wake up?" I asked.

"Not until her chakra replenishes, which will be sometime next week… Treat her like she's dead; just focus on keeping her warm and safe until you get to Konoha, and Tsunade will be able to deal with her once you get there."

"Understood," I nodded.

"Here," she said, handing me a lump of jumbled straps and fabric. "Take this with you."

"What… is it?" I asked slowly.

"It's a harness us medic-nins use to carry victims. For you, it will help you by keeping Sakura on your back so your arms don't get tired carrying her."

"Interesting," I said.

"Here, I'll show you how to put it on." I finished attaching my weapons as I watched Temari pull back the sheet covering Sakura and quickly positioned the harness around her, buckling a few buckles into place.

"Come here and turn around." She motioned, and I walked to the bedside and soon felt Sakura's warmth against my back as Temari lifted her against me and buckled a couple more buckles across my chest. "That feel alright?"

"Yes."

"Okay then… it looks like you're ready to go. It shouldn't be too cold so you shouldn't need a blanket but I tucked one in the harness with her anyway."

We stood there awkwardly for a moment.

"So…" she said.

"Does Gaara want to see her before I go?"

"Probably." And as if to answer my question, Gaara entered the room in a swirl of sand. He silently walked over to us and nodded towards Sakura.

"Take care of her, Kakashi."

I nodded.

"We'll be leaving behind you in about 3 days. Then we'll arrive leaving approximately a day before she is expected to wake up."

I nodded again and Gaara slowly extended his hand. I grasped it and shook it briefly.

"Safe journey!" Temari called behind him, and nodding at them both one last time I leapt from the window, landing smoothly on the roof of a house below. I darted from roof to roof until I was at the edge of the forest exiting on the Konoha side of Suna. I turned and took one last look at the city. Under the cover of dusk it looked as though it was deserted, but I knew better.

I turned my back and leapt to the nearest tree branch.


	14. Chapter 14

Okay so it's 11:29pm and I just typed this out really fast for you guys. (You BETTER be happy. That's right. BE happy.) So here is the fresh, un-beta-ed version of chapter 14. You BETTER be happy. I only have 24 more pages of story left! D: I told my friend this today and she sarcastically replied, "You poor baby!" She just doesn't get me ;) Anywho, without a long winded A/N that makes most of you want to kill me, here's the good stuff.

~ Belle

…

It was late night or early morning, judging by the darkness in the forest. I would say probably one a.m. That means I had been running 7 hours straight, and I needed a rest.

I stopped jumping ahead and jumped branch to branch down, until I was standing on the forest floor. I undid the harness and let Sakura gently down to the ground, leaning her against a tree and carefully sitting beside her. I sighed and leaned my head back against the trunk, staying like that until I heard a noise.

I jumped up and positioned myself in front of Sakura, glancing around the clearing until I heard the noise again, this time from behind me.

I quickly turned around and then relaxed as I noticed it was Sakura moving. I looked at her closely and she had just moved a little unconsciously. I smiled lightly and returned to sitting by her side against the tree trunk.

Another half an hour passed maybe, and then I heard a muffled noise. I moved again and just turned my head so I was looking at her. The muffled noise came again. It almost sounded like a whimper.

"No…" she whispered, her voice full of dread.

I stayed quiet.

"No…" she whimpered, a little louder this time. "Don't leave me… please!"

I sat up straight and checked her over. No, she was most definitely not awake. But she was talking…?

I then got an idea. I gently took her hand.

"Sakura…" I said quietly. "Who's leaving you?"

"Ka… Ka… Kakashi." She whispered, a little louder this time. "Don't leave me!" She let out a scream.

"Whoa, whoa!" I panicked, not knowing what to do. She was having a nightmare, and I couldn't help her. I jumped to my feet.

"Don't go…" A tear rolled down her cheek. "I know… I'm not… good enough…" Her arms twitched, then wrapped around her midsection. I was watching her with increasing horror.

I was the reason for her nightmares.

This had to be horrible for her… this wasn't the first time someone had done this to her.

I was no better than Sasuke.

I was becoming more and more desperate, feeling helpless as I watched her endure her own personal form of torture.

I had another idea. If my voice could reach her, maybe my presence could too.

Looking around, as if to check and see if there was anybody around watching, I carefully went to Sakura's side again and sat down. After hesitating a moment, I slowly reached my arms around her and pulled her against my chest, gently hugging her to me. She sniffled and a couple more tears rolled down her cheeks. I rubbed her back and held her tight for a moment, silently praying this would work.

"I'm not leaving you." I said quietly.

"But…" she whimpered. "You're walking away…"

I pulled her so she was now in my lap and I held her against my chest, softly pressing my lips to her hair and inhaling the sweet scent of her hair.

She flinched. "Who… who's there?"

"I am." I breathed. "I won't ever leave you again."

It was silent for a minute, and then a word tumbled out of her mouth in a whisper that I really had to work to catch.

"…Promise?"

I chuckled quietly. Of course she would ask for my word, otherwise she wouldn't believe me.

"Promise."

"Okay…" She unconsciously curled a little closer to me, her fingers grasping my shirt and tangling themselves in it as if to assure herself that I wouldn't leave. I chuckled again and gently ruffled her hair and drifted to sleep slowly with her in my arms.

…

I was up at down the next morning, and seeing as Sakura was still unmoving, I did up the harness again and then, seeing as she was safely on my back, I took off, leaping from tree to tree as fast as I could with renewed strength.

Due to the speed I was travelling at, I knew it would only be a short time before I could see Konoha. I turned my head to look at Sakura on my back.

"Almost there, Sakura." I assured her. And as if to back up my claim, the forest started to thin as Konoha became visible.

I paused at the edge of the city and taking a look at it I decided not to walk through it, instead performing a few hand signs and disappearing us into a cloud of leaves and smoke.

I appeared in front of a door, and I stepped forward and knocked on it.

I managed to count to 3 before Tsunade opened the door. Her eyes went from my feet, to my face, to Sakura on my back. He eyes narrowed and went back to mine.

"Well Hatake, what'd you do?"

"Don't worry," My eye curved up and I laughed nervously. "It's only chakra exhaustion."

"Chakra exhaustion eh? Now how in the world did she manage to get that?" Her voice sounded full of sarcasm.

"Helping me…" I changed the topic at the look on her face. "I killed Orochimaru, though."

"Oh yes, I'm quite aware of that." She said. "That news went around rather quickly after the body was found. The body, might I add that you LEFT in the forest, by the way."

"Well, I woke up and Sakura was unconscious and feverish so I thought I should take her to Suna first—"

"Well that shows you have at least an OUNCE of common sense. So she was in Suna…?"

"Umm, can we finish this conversation later?" I nodded towards the young kunoichi on my back.

She exhaled annoyedly and glared at me as she made some hand signs, causing us all to disappear and appear again in a hospital room. Tsunade immediately walked to the door of the room and exited.

"You can put her on that bed there," she called. "I'm going to go get the paperwork."

I looked at the bed in front of me and carefully glanced around the room.

"Well, I guess we're here, Sakura." I carefully let her down and gently laid her on the bed and went and sat on one of the chairs in the farthest corner of the room by the window and waited for Tsunade to get back.

She entered the room with a chart and clipboard and sat down beside Sakura and checked her pulse.

"Temari said a couple days ago she would be out for a week, so I'm guessing that's less now, is it not?" I asked.

She nodded, letting go of Sakura's wrist and writing down a number.

"Yes," she began. "She's got about 4 more days."

I stayed silent and took to looking out the window.

"You know? There's one thing I'll never get about you, Kakashi."

I looked at her with my lone eye and raised my eyebrow slightly, prompting her to continue.

"It's how you can remain so cold, so indifferent, so apathetic, when the girl who probably ended up like this because of you is laying here unconscious."

I returned to looking out the window. How little she knew.

"And it breaks my heart to know how much this girl cares about you while all you seem intent on doing is breaking her from the inside…"

I stayed quiet.

"When she wakes up she's going to leave again; you know that."

"Hmm yes, about that actually…" I turned to look at her. "I need to talk to you for a minute Tsunade… explain some things."

She stared me down. "This'll take longer than a minute. You have a LOT of things to explain."

I stood up and resignedly follow her to her office after speaking with one of the nurses about Sakura's condition, knowing she would only be satisfied if I explained it from the beginning…

OMG! It ends in stars! (or at least it was SUPPOSED to, but I didn't bother fxxking around with the editing, it wouldn't let me put them, stupid word processor ) You know what that means?! Yeah I know, it's not that exciting. I'll stop now :x


	15. Chapter 15

Hey all you people! It's me again, back to update you guys. Some of you (or perhaps all of you) will be ECSTATIC to know this story has now officially been finished being written, it's just getting the rest of it up. I have started a sequel as well, anyone think I should put it on the site? I also have a couple ideas for new fics, watch me this summer :D But as for this one. Its updates are numbered (mwhaha). In exactly 23.5 written pages, this story will conclude, forever closing another chapter of a fanfic in the KakaSaku Cliché hall of fame. So sue me. I'm a fan of the pair. But anyway, let me know what you think of this chapter, tell me how you feel about this one ending, and let me know what you thinkg about me posting a sequel.

Yours in love of Naruto, (I'm not a Narutard! (god I hate that term -_-) D:)

~Belle

In my head I was struggling through the thick bog of my mind; it felt like swimming through mud. I felt so weak, as if my very life force had been drained from me and it was only now just returning.

Then the memories started flooding into my brain. My thoughts ran wild.

_Did Kakashi make it?_ I thought wildly, noticing everything around me was white. I was wearing a little white sundress, and my pink hair was halfway down my back. I appeared to be kneeling in a big white space, so different from the previous scenes of my visions. I was surrounded by a misty aura of white. I stood up and slowly spun in a circle, running my fingers through it. It dispelled around the shape of my hand and I sighed lightly.

"Why don't you open your eyes and see then?" I whirled around and a ghostly image of Kakashi was in my white room with me. When I saw him his visible eye curved up, and I assumed that meant he was smiling.

I looked down at the floor, where there was fog about knee deep. "Oh no," I said softly, "I don't think I made it… I just want to know if you did."

"You'd be surprised." His eye curved again. "Tsunade said you'll pull through."

I looked up towards the ceiling and it appeared to be endless. "Of course…" I whispered. "The moment I don't care is the moment nothing can hurt me."

"Open your eyes." His breath ghosted in my ear. He had appeared behind me. I shivered and he chuckled. "Besides," he went on casually. "I have something to tell you."

"Ohhh I bet." I whispered again. _Tell me to stay away from you, _my mind added.

His arms snaked around my waist, and I held my breath.

"Please?" He said in a low voice that made me shiver again.

"Oh how I wish this were real…" I sighed.

"Who said it wasn't?" He dispelled into a dark blue mist behind me, and his voice echoed around me.

"Open your eyes…"

"But…" I said quietly, dropping to my knees and resting my weight on my heels. "I've been so weak for so long… and I've been trying, but I can't."

"Try again."

I closed my eyes to the white room, and tried to maintain my focus.

I heard one last ghostly chuckle. "Good girl."

My eyes flew open, and it looked like the white room walls all rushed toward me, to reveal white walls that had more definition. My legs were stretched out in front of me, and I felt a rush of strength return. I blinked a couple of times as the room slowly came into focus. My eyes moved to the person sitting on the edge of the bed.

"…Tsunade?" I asked, my voice sounding awful and cracked from no use.

She looked at me and smiled gently. "How do you feel?"

"Awful." I choked. "Tsunade, I'm sorry—"

"You're the last one who should be apologizing." She said it like it was obvious. "I was talking about your chakra exhaustion."

"Oh…" I said, blushing a little. "I… kind of overdid it didn't I."

"I'll say." She looked at me sternly.

"I feel alright." As if to disprove my claim, my stomach growled. I clutched it and groaned. "Except for that."

Tsunade laughed. "That's to be expected. Don't worry, I sent for some food a while ago; it should be here soon."

It went quiet for a minute.

"Tsunade… were you waiting on me to wake up?"

"Not especially." She grumbled. "I'm under strict orders to have someone in this room watching you at all times."

"Why?" I asked.

"Kakashi seemed to think you would run away again." She narrowed her eyes. "I didn't think 24 hour guard was necessary, but he insisted."

"Guard…?" I questioned in a flat voice.

"Oh yes. I'm also under strict orders not to let you leave."

It finally all dawned on me.

"Oh no." I said. "But if you're here that means… oh damn."

"Puts a damper on your plans, does it?"

"What plans?"

"You know, your plan to leave Konoha, live in a foreign city and never speak to any of us again…" She narrowed her eyes again.

"You know why I did that." I said bluntly. She shrugged. "So I guess this means… he made it?"

"Oh yes." She said non-chalantly. "Thanks to you."

I looked to the ceiling, closed my eyes, and smiled. "Good."

She stayed quiet.

"So when do I get to leave here?" I asked politely.

"Soon, I guess." She paused. "But for now you have some friends here who want to see you."

"Really?" I asked.

"Sakura!" Temari burst through the door and flung her arms around my neck. "I knew you'd make it!"

I smiled. "Thanks Temari." I noticed Gaara standing there over her shoulder.

"Gaara!" I exclaimed, jumping out of the bed and wrapping my arms around his middle.

"Good to see you." He sounded strained. "Are you okay?"

I kept hugging him for a couple seconds, and then let go. "Yeah."

"Excellent." He said in his deep voice, and then his mouth turned up at one corner.

"See? I always knew you could smile." I teased.

"So glad to see you too, Sakura." Temari said. "It's fine, just ignore me." She smiled. I went and hugged her.

"Why are you guys here?" I asked.

"For you, silly." Temari answered immediately. "That, and Gaara wanted to be here when you woke up." I looked at said boy, who was now over and talking to Tsunade.

"You guys are the best." I said, and then remembered something. "…and also the worst! What happened to not letting somebody near me?"

"Hey now," She smiled and blushed. "It's all turning out alright now, isn't it?"

"If you say so." I grumbled.

"Oh, I do." She smiled widely, and then turned to Gaara. "Come on, Kazekage, we better get back."

"Back where?" I asked.

"To where we're staying, of course." She said, grabbing Gaara's hand and tugging him behind her out of the door. "Bye, Sakura!" Gaara nodded silently at the same time Temari said her goodbye.

I went and say back on the bed, sighing.

"What was that about?" I asked Tsunade.

"They're your friends; they were worried about you."

"Right." I said under my breath. I went and sat back on the bed.

Tsunade silently filled out some chart work.

"So… when do I get out of here?"

She eyed me wearily. "You mean the hospital, right?"

I thought about it for a second. "Maybe."

Tsunade sighed. "Sakura…"

I looked at her. "Hmm?"

She suddenly looked guilty. "I can't let you do that."

"Are we still talking about the hospital?"

"Sakura, I gave my word that I wouldn't let you leave the city."

I instantly became angry. "What?! You're Hokage! Who would you need to give your word to?! Why?! And besides—"

"That's none of your concern. What you need to understand is you're not leaving the city."

I became pleading. "I can't stay here."

"You will be watched—"

"You've got to understand—"

"And guarded—"

"Trust me—"

"By the ANBU black ops—"

"Tsunade please!"

"—Until further notice. My decision is final, Sakura. But physically you should be fine. Since you know the rules, I suppose you're free to go." She stood.

I ran forwards and grasped the front of her shirt, burying my face in it. The tears leaked over.

"Tsunade… don't do this to me." I sobbed. "You know I don't belong here anymore. My heart is just breaking being here; I have to get away."

She wrapped her arms around me. "I know, Sakura." She whispered. "I can't go back on my word, but I give you my word that this will be all over soon." She laughed softly. "I daresay you'll want to stay before the day is out."

I drew away. "I doubt it." I said defiantly. "There's nothing here that can make me stay."

She laughed again. "Now I doubt that." She walked to the door. "I'll sign you out downstairs. Feel free to leave whenever you're ready."

I looked around the room and saw my normal clothes lying on a chair. I lifted the shirt of my hospital pajamas and sighed, staring at the line of pink raised tissue for a minute.

When I had changed I opened the window and leaned slightly out it. I glanced at the door behind me and, deciding against it, climbed out of the window and jumped, noticing I was on the first floor. I landed agilely on my feet and jumped up again immediately, landing on the roof of another nearby building. I leapt rooftop to rooftop, stopping when I reached my apartment. I grabbed the spare key I kept under the mat, and let myself in. I breathed a sigh at the sight of my home. No matter how painful it was to be here, it was nice to be home. The first thing I did was have a long, hot shower. I let the smell of my shampoo fill my nose, and the steaming water unknot my muscles. When I was done I put some of my own pajamas on and lay on my bed. It was only about noon, and I had woken up just an hour previously at the hospital, but I was still tired. I went to close the curtains on my window, and I saw briefly the shadow of an ANBU ninja on the edge of the roof outside. I sighed and flopped on my bed, realizing I was indeed trapped in the city. I feel asleep shortly after, but not before a few tears leaked over.

…

Remember that dots means time lapse, not POV change. :)


	16. Chapter 16

Heluuuuuu everyone! It's the really annoying girl again I know, but I'll make this quick.  
THERE ARE 3 UPDATES LEFT of this story. There are 17.5 written pages left.  
The more reviews, the quicker they come.  
I'm going to be heading into exams in about a month, and if you want the end before then you better speak up :D  
Not trying to be too mean but I'm not going to post too much if I can be spending my time catching up in school.  
--- I send love to the NON-Anonymous reviewer, who graciously betas all my work.... AFTER I've published it :p (Better late than never I suppose. She knows I work with MS WORD '07 and this can't even compare. -_-)  
The sequel IS UNDERWAY, and is so far about 4.5 pages.  
IT WON'T BE UP UNTIL AFTER EXAMS NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU ASK.  
So that's about it :p  
After my sequel I've decided, it's a SasuSaku fic, then possibly some fics from another anime.  
Anybody have any requests? (NOT BLEACH OR ONE-PIECE, as these are HUGE and I haven't read them DX)  
Anyways, NOW I'm officially done this didn't-turn-out-to-be-so-quick A/N.  
Sorry :P

~ Belle

When I woke it was late night, and I chuckled darkly, noting how backwards my sleep schedule had become the last two weeks. I changed into my uniform and peeked out behind the curtains. I could see a glimpse of the ANBU sitting outside my window. I cursed inwardly, but then came up with a plan. Packing a few things, I made some hand signs and disappeared into a puff of leaves and smoke. I appeared in an unknown spot and spun on the spot, looking around. I was on a roof about 20 houses away from mine. Okay, so maybe it wasn't unknown, but it was only about half as far as I intended to go. I must have still been a bit low on chakra. The ANBU saw me and leapt to his or her feet.

"Shit!" I cursed out loud as I started darting from rooftop to rooftop, the Konoha gates coming closer and closer.

I was about to cross to the other side of them when I was stopped by a kunai at my neck. I gasped as the ANBU used the arm they had not around my head holding a kunai to my neck to wrap around and pull me against them. I realized then it was a man, from the masculine hand and flat chest. The kunai came a little closer.

I struggled a little, trying to escape from his grasp, but made no avail. The ANBU laughed darkly.

"Too slow, Sakura." I felt his breath in my ear and my breathing stopped.

I looked to the right and saw in my peripherals the cloak of the ANBU, the hood up creating a shadow over his face. He didn't look to be wearing the regulation animal mask, though.

"If you're an ANBU…" I started slowly. "Why aren't you wearing a face mask?" He drew the kunai away from my neck.

"Because," the man chuckled mischievously. "I have one of my own."

I was confused. "What…?"

Without warning the ANBU pressed me harder to him and leaped into the air, causing me to gasp. He jumped a few more times before letting me down in a forest clearing and jumping again so he was standing across the clearing from me. I sighed. The ANBU looked indifferent, from what I could tell without seeing his face.

I looked around. "So, why are we here?"

He looked at me, or at least his hood did.

"Why are you trying to leave?"

I let out a breath in a whoosh. "Do we… have to talk about that?"

"Well," the ANBU-nin said. "Since you won't be leaving, you might as well tell me why you're trying to."

"I told someone I loved them." I said.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that." He said quietly.

"I told someone I loved them!" I shouted.

"And they rejected you?" He inquired.

"…Yeah."

"Leaving because of that seems childish. Surely this person has a reason for rejecting your affections?"

"Yes…" I breathed out. "it was me."

"What?"

"I'm… out of my league. I'm not good enough for him and I shouldn't have tried."

"Why do you think that?"

"I don't think that, I know that and it's because he's so much better than me. I mean he's a better ninja, a better person… but he's my everything. I grew up in his shadow and settled for silently caring and hoping he'd notice me but I knew he never would. I was always weaker and less useful than the others. And in the end, I was right. The day never came, and at that moment I knew I couldn't be near him any longer."

The ANBU stayed quiet.

"After waking up in Konoha after I had told him I… cared about him, and he rejected me, I realized I had to get out of the city. I escaped to Suna and lived there for about a week and a half before he came to find me. I wasn't sure why. While he was talking to me we were attacked by Orochimaru. He was pretty badly injured, and poisoned. I… healed him but used up too much chakra, and that combined with the malignant chakra-draining poison I absorbed from him caused me to pass out. I woke up here."

"So what are your plans now?"

"You know," I said, narrowing my eyes. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this anyway. Maybe I want you to learn from my example."

"What am I supposed to be learning?"

I looked directly into the shadow created by his hood. "I don't know, but do me a favor and let me know if you find out."

The ANBU looked away from my gaze, and I turned my back.

"You can't keep me here; I'll die trying to get out. I've made a fool of myself enough already. Tell Tsunade what I've just told you, and she'll understand."

I started walking, but before I could get far, the ANBU landed wordlessly in front of me. I stood still for a moment and he reached behind his own head and pulled his hood down.

My breath left me, expelling from my lungs with a cruel "whoosh". My insides crumpled, propelling me to the ground in pain. I wrapped my arms around my middle and tried to drag fresh air into my lungs so my brain could function. My heart threatened to rip from my chest, suddenly throbbing forcefully against my rib cage, reminding me I was alive. The fired ripped through me, and I closed my eyes to its painful wrath.

In other words, I broke.

It was Kakashi.

I started trembling and slowly opened my eyes again to the cold reality I wished to wake up from. A cold wind whipped through the forest, causing me to shiver. I suddenly wished to be miles from my current spot.

He watched this whole display apathetically, and the sight of that broke my heart.

"Don't be afraid," he almost sounded appalled. "I'm not going to hurt you."

I shakily got to my feet. "I'm not afraid." I was terrified, though not of the "hurting me" aspect.

He stayed quiet.

"Why am I not allowed to leave." I was looking at the ground and my fists were clenched, and my voice came out like a sob. I didn't bother to make it a question.

His response sounded offhand. "Because I won't let you."

I almost cried in frustration.

THERE SHOULD BE A STAR PAGE BREAK HERE

After I pulled my hood down, she fell to her knees on the ground and wrapped her arms around her middle, appearing to hold herself together. To the average person, it would appear she was suffering from an injury. But, I knew better.

She had broken.

My chest throbbed and my heart ached to reach out to her, but there was a part of me holding back. There was a piece of me that couldn't.

A piece that was riddled with guilt.

She gave me so many opportunities to tell her the truth, but I gave in to cowardice every time, tossing out some half-witted response that probably served to do nothing but hurt her more.

She was so strong, to endure everything I've done to her in silent suffering.

Though, she probably thought herself to be uselessly weak.

In disguising myself as an ANBU I got her to tell me some of her secrets, but when I got the answer to my questions, it made me wish I'd never tried in the first place.

I was trying to speak kindly to her, but it probably sounded condescending.

I felt helpless, but knew there was only one thing I could do.

OOOOOH It's really coming down to it! Any predictions? So yeah. Sorry. For you know what :p Feel free to stone me, although I don't guarantee that will get you the new chapter any faster :S but I will see you all later... (or sooner! :p)


	17. Chapter 17

Alright! SO I've broken down the three final updates into two. Meaning they're longer! And you get more story! Yay! So anyway, I've been told that the sequel sucks so far by my main beta reader, which wounds me so (I hope you read this, you meanie!). But I still plan to upload it to FF, don't worry. So this is officially the second last update to this story, and for those wondering when the actual "romance" was going to come in to this story, this is it! It's not to heavy or anything, but this also is the last of it ;)

Now remember, no nosebleeds!

~Belle

He was starting to look troubled, and that piqued my curiosity. He shifted his weight uneasily, and stuffed his hands into his pockets. All of his facial expressions were hidden behind his mask, and I cursed it. As to the cause of his distress, I guessed it was because he didn't like being near me as much as I didn't like being near him. I looked down again, staying that way until he spoke.

"Sakura," he began in a tone that sounded as though he was about to tell me something horrible, and I braced my insides for the impact. "When I told you in Suna why I tried to allow you to escape from Orochimaru, I wasn't entirely truthful."

I waited, letting his words sink in.

"I didn't do it out of obligation, or responsibility. I intentionally tried to anger you in Orochimaru's lair so you would perform in a way that would look real as I died, offering my life for yours. I wanted you to go free. But, my plan backfired when you turned your wrath on yourself instead of me. I could see how my words, only meant to anger you, had truly hurt you, and I felt remorse instantly."

I shivered violently as a moderate gust of wind blew gently through the clearing where we were. This didn't escape his notice.

"Naruto had shown up after you lost consciousness, and he was terribly upset, mostly furious. Before he could ask any questions I took you and transported to Konoha, healed you a bit myself and then took you to Tsunade's. She told me a lot… and I wanted to be saying this then at her house, but you left before I could speak to you. Konoha… wasn't very happy with me. Tsunade and Naruto were the most upset that you'd left. After three days, I decided for the sake of myself and the others that I was going to go find you. I followed a hunch to Suna."

I didn't know where he was going with this, so I took a slow breath in. It was shaky, and I shivered again.

"When I got to Suna and I found you there, I took one look at you and realized you were suffering nearly a hundred times more than I was… to this day I haven't seen the green light in your eyes that I like so much... and I feel responsible for turning that out." He paused. "I meant to tell you this then too, but we were attached… and my first thought was to kill Orochimaru for playing a hand in all this, which I did after sustaining an injury myself. When I came to and realized you'd healed me at extensive cost to yourself – I'm sure you expected death – I knew you still cared. At this point you were dying, and I took you to Temari immediately."

He'd saved me again. Was that all I was good for? My throat was dry, I couldn't respond.

"I waited until Temari had healed you and then I asked Gaara if I could bring you home – I took advantage of your unconsciousness to bring you to Konoha." He smiled.

I shivered yet again, looking down at the ground. This time, I heard him coming toward me, and I clenched my fists. I suddenly felt the ANBU cloak sliding over my shoulders and he fastened it shut, holding the clasp together with his hands. The cloak was a mile too big; its extra fabric pooling on the forest floor at my feet.

My heart was beating loudly, and the blood was pulsing in my ears. He was so close it was painful.

"Sakura," he began again in a very soft tone. "I didn't want you to die so I was willing to die for you. When that didn't work I rushed you to safety. I didn't want you to be killed so I defended you knowing I'd be injured. When that backfired I had you healed, and brought you home. Now, I don't want you to leave. But this time, I'm not laying my life on the line for you. I'm laying my heart."

"What a-are you saying?" I whispered, looking up at him.

He looked deep into my eyes for a long moment.

"I love you, Sakura."

Tears came to my eyes as I tried to twist away from him, but his hands were still holding the clasp of the cape. He looked confused.

"Don't lie." I sobbed. "Don't sacrifice yourself for the others, pretend you love me and tie yourself down for the sake of the others, so I'll stay."

"I'm not lying." He said in a serious voice.

"Yes you are!" I sobbed, the tears now leaking over.

His expression turned sad.

"Why don't you believe me?" he asked sadly.

"Because it doesn't make sense," I choked, voice breaking. "I'm not good for you… Why can't you leave me alone? I'm trying to move on." My voice came out like a sob again.

"Mmm, no." He said, pretending to think for a minute.

"Why not?" I was almost mad.

He pulled the clasp of the cloak towards him, causing me to come with it. He leaned down and whispered into my ear.

"Because I don't want you to." He said it in a low voice that made me shiver.

He wrapped his arms around me and laid his masked cheek against my hair. My arms hung limply by my sides as the tears continued to flow.

"I love you." He said it like he was reminding me.

I simply nodded into his chest, devoid of feeling. I was numb. How I wished I could just say it back and everything would be okay.

He drew away from me and looked at me sadly.

"You still don't believe me do you?"

I slowly shook my head and tried to take a step backwards, but he wouldn't let me.

"How can I make you believe me?" He said more to himself than to me. "Oh, I know." He smiled, answering his own question.

"You don't have to say anything." I said. "I'll give it up and sta—"

I was soon cut off my something warm pressing against my lips. Warm and soft. I realized it was Kakashi's bare lips. My eyes widened as I tried to make my brain function. He had taken his mask off…?

I had yet to return his kiss; my heart was pounding as a blush rose to my cheeks.

He chuckled lightly against my lips, opening his mismatched eyes slightly. "You're so cute when you blush." I blushed more. "Kiss me back, Sakura." He closed his eyes again.

I stayed frozen for a long moment, before closing my eyes and carefully returning the kiss slowly, prepared for the hurt that would come after.

"That's my girl." He whispered, moving his hands from the clasp of the cloak to my waist inside the cloak and pulling me closer.

I inhaled his scent, musky, woodsy, and masculine. It overwhelmed my nose, making my head whirl.

He broke off quickly for breath and then kissed me again. I sighed against his mouth and he smiled against mine. He ran his tongue against my bottom lip and I gasped, and then he pushed his tongue into my mouth a little.

He then broke the kiss, holding me slightly away from him, looking at my face. My head was still swimming.

"You…" I began. "You…"

"Yes, I did." He smiled slyly. "Believe me now?"

I only now just realized I was looking at his bare face and I wasn't taking time to enjoy it. I looked below his eyes and the scar over his Sharingan eye went halfway down his cheek. Other than that, his face was perfect, so unlike my own. I looked at his face analytically, desperately trying to memorize every feature in its composition. His defined jaw lines, perfect chin, soft lips…

"Sakura?" he asked, as if to check if I was still alive.

I realized I was staring, and I blushed and looked away. "Oh um… I'm sorry, I—"

He laughed and drew me into his arms. "It's okay, I know I'm sexy." He teased.

I let out a tiny, short laugh and went carefully to hug him back.

"I love you." He whispered into my hair. How, for the past two years had I wished he'd say that once; now I'd heard it three times in twenty minutes.

"Okay." I said quietly.

...

The dots don't mean anything, they're just a page break.

So same goes as last time, the more reviews, the faster it comes. Can anyone offer any improvement on my writing style? I've taken writing courses, but I'm always open to suggestions. Love!


	18. Chapter 18

Okay I'm tired as hell so for all you EFFtards out there who hate "leik OMG sooper loooooooong A/N's", rejoice. And then go to hell.

So yeah. Last chapter. I personally hate the way the ending is written. But you be the judge.

See you after exams when I upload the first chapter of the sequel, _Another Cliché II_

~ Belle

He led me over to a tree with a large trunk and sat down at the base of it, pulling me into his lap. I immediately struggled to get out.

"No—" I protested quietly. "I'm too heavy—"

He laughed. "Not likely. I did carry you here from Suna, you know."

I stopped. "Right…" I let him sit me between his legs and curled up against his chest. I stayed quiet for a minute before speaking.

"How much do you know?"

He shifted uneasily under me, hesitating as if he knew his answer would upset me.

"It's everything isn't it. Ohhh no…" I put my face in my hands and blushed horribly, terribly embarrassed.

He pulled my hands away from my face. "Don't hide your face." He said softly. "It's okay."

"Tell me what you know, and I'll let you know."

He shifted again, and then began.

"After I brought you to Konoha from Orochimaru's lair Tsunade told me what she knew while she was working on you. She talked about your feelings for me and how they ruled your life. She talked about your frequent depressions… crying at night, unable to perform medicine, doubting your worth… it nearly killed me to hear that, you know. She… told me how long it's been going on, too."

I stayed quiet and concentrated on my breathing.

"So I stayed by your bedside to talk to you when you woke up, but you were clever and waited until I left the room to escape. Tsunade read your note and became angry with me. I found Naruto and explained what had taken place, as the last time he saw me he thought you were dead, by my hand no less."

"Naruto…" I said his name quietly and thoughtfully.

"I promised him and Tsunade that I'd come get you, so I thought Suna would be the only logical place I could go to start. When I got there I realized that I was being tracked, so I sent a shadow clone into the city and quickly moved outside the city to the other side of it, realizing that once you found out I was in town you'd leave on that side."

"And that was my downfall." I grumbled quietly.

"I know you well, don't I?" He smiled down at me. "So, I meant to tell you I loved you then but we were attacked. When I brought you to Suna they wouldn't let me inside at first but when I talked to the jounin outside he told me what he had seen, and he has realized the same things I had. So it was then I realized how much pain I'd truly caused you. Everyone was noticing. Then I decided that the moment you regained consciousness I was going to tell you my side of the story from the beginning. No amount of pride or cautiousness justified hurting you so deeply. That was one of the reasons I never told you I cared about you, even though I've loved you almost as long as you've loved me… I'm afraid of caring, or showing that care. Everybody I've ever loved is dead… except for you of course. But I knew if it was made known that I loved you, your life would be in danger."

"I don't care." I whispered.

He looked at me fondly. "I know you don't, but I love you too much."

I was taking in what he was saying slowly, and I began to wonder if this was a dream.

"I… also know you have nightmares about me."

I gasped. I'd never mentioned those to anyone, and I didn't even let myself think about them when they were over. "How?" I asked concernedly.

He ran his fingers through my hair. "You were crying and talking in your sleep. You said something about somebody leaving you…"

Horror washed over me. I'd had that one recently and it was the worst one yet. He'd heard it.

"I asked you who it was and you said it was me. I brought you close to me and promised—"

"—you'd never leave me again." I finished.

"You remember that?" His visible eye curved up.

"I thought it was part of my dream." I looked sad. "I didn't expect it to be real. Just like this…" my voice trailed off wistfully.

He hooked his finger under his mask. "Oh this is real. Do you want me to prove it to you again?"

I blushed. "No, it's okay."

He chuckled, leaving his mask pulled up. "Later then…"

"What else?" I asked softly.

"Well when we got back to Konoha for the second time I took you to Tsunade's again, and she brought us to the hospital. I told her what had happened, and I begged her not to let you leave. She agreed to let me dress as an ANBU… well in the cloak anyway. I still had mine…" he chuckled. "So I had already told Gaara and Temari most of this, that's how I got their permission to bring you here, that and on the promise I would tell you this as soon as I could, no more backing out. I told Tsunade everything too… and she agreed she'd keep you in the city for 3 days, but unless I told you this she'd let you leave again… her words were, 'I won't force her to stay where it hurts to live, or where she feels unwanted. Although it would pain me to lose her again, it would be more painful to keep her here so I could let her be tortured by your existence'." He narrowed his eye.

"I was not tortured by your existence." I protested.

"Yes you were." He said. "You'd just never admit it to anyone though it's completely obvious to us."

I looked down humbly. He lifted my chin to look into my eyes.

"See?" he repeated. "I know you." He teased.

"Too well." I grumbled.

"Apparently not, considering I didn't know my existence, or me I guess, could cause you this much pain."

I wrapped my arms around my middle. "Well now you do." I said bitterly.

He touched my arms where they crossed over my stomach. "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?" I asked, confused.

"Cross your arms over yourself like that. You do it every time you're upset or hurt."

"Oh." I said, uncrossing my arms in an attempt to break the habit. "I guess I do it to hold myself together, and almost protect myself from whatever's hurting me." I shrugged.

"Hmm…" he went on thoughtfully. Suddenly he quickly stood us both up.

I was worried. "What's wrong?"

"I think it's time we go back." His eye twinkled and he winked at me. "They'll probably be looking for us."

He walked past me and I called out to him softly. "Kakashi?"

He turned around. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

He looked confused. "What?"

"I mean, you were stabbed right? How are you feeling?"

"Well, we have matching scars now." His eye curved up as he lifted his shirt and showed me the unhealed pink line on his stomach where the katana had stabbed him.

"Oh." I gasped, running over to him. I held up my hand, which I had lit green with healing chakra. "I can fix that."

He gently pushed my hand away and smiled again. "No, no. It's alright. I actually kind of like it. It has a… certain charm to it."

"Okay." I walked past him towards the village. By now it was dawn. I sighed sadly.

He caught up to me, walking beside me. "What's wrong?"

I stopped, and so did he. I turned to him. "Well," I said sadly. "This is how it ends, right?"

"How what ends?" He asked confusedly.

I looked down. "This." I mumbled. "Don't we have to go back and pretend this never happened?"

"Maybe I wasn't clear." He took the cape clasp and twiddled it in his fingers for a minute, and then looked into my eyes with his lone grey one. "I love you, and we can be together, if you want it."

My eyes widened. "We can?"

He laughed. "You're _so_ naïve." He pressed his masked lips to my forehead.

My heart was beating unsteadily. I wrapped my arms around his middle and hugged him to me.

"Kakashi," I began.

"Hmm, yes?" He encouraged me.

"I… I love you too."

He sighed happily. "I've been waiting to hear you say that."

And then, before I could stop him, his mask was down and his lips were on mine again. I kissed him back with all I had. My arms made their way around his neck and his hands cradled my waist. After a few more seconds he drew away from me and looked into my eyes. I was blushing again as I looked at his face.

He chuckled and pulled up his mask. "What?"

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "I'm never going to get used to that."

He smiled. "Would you be mad if I said I hope you don't?"

I giggled. "I guess not. Let's go home."

We turned and started walking towards town again.

Suddenly he reached over and grabbed my hand. I jumped.

He laughed. "Nervous?"

I blushed. "No! Just… surprised."

He yanked on my arm so we were walking closer together. "You're so adorable when you're nervous."

Cheeks still a dusty pink, I looked down and away.

"You… don't have to do this." I said sadly, releasing his hand. I half expected it to drop, but he held mine tighter in his.

"I know," his eye curved. "But I want to."

We walked a few more steps and he leaned over and whispered, "I love you."

I shivered. "I'm never going to get used to hearing that."

He grinned under his mask. "Would you be mad if I said I hope you don't?" He asked, repeating himself from earlier.

I giggled again. "No, and I love you too."

He kissed my nose. "Thank you."

We kept walking towards town, his hand in mine.

I sighed as we got to the first set of houses. I stopped and dropped his hand. He looked at me curiously.

"I should go find Naruto, and let him know what's going on." I said. "Before my guilt gets the better of me."

He smiled and laughed lightly. "Ever since you'd left he's taken to wandering the outskirts of town at dawn, and training early in the morning. He said he was waiting for you to come back, and he wanted to be the first one to see you." He gestured down one side of the Konoha wall. "You could probably find him somewhere along there."

I half smiled. "Thanks." I wrapped my arms around his middle.

He patted my head. "You're welcome."

I drew away and looked at him. "Where will I be able to find you when I'm done?"

He smiled. "Oh I'm sure we'll be able to find each other."

I laughed quietly. "Okay."

He looked at me. "See you later."

I nodded. "Bye."

He disappeared into a cloud of leaves and smoke while raising his hand for his trademark wave, and I turned and started walking in the direction he had pointed, ready to find Naruto.

I could hear some noises in the distance, so I started walking a bit more quickly. "Naruto?" I called.

The noises got louder. I started jogging. "Naruto!" I called again.

Soon I was running towards the increasing din. Soon my blond Team 7 team mate came into view. I darted towards him and threw my arms around his neck from behind. He lost his balance and we both fell.

"Naruto!" I squealed as I landed on top of him.

"Ow, Sakura!" He got up slowly. "That was my ear."

"Sorry." I smiled as I stood up. "I'm just happy to see you."

He looked solemn. "So…" he said slowly. "How have you been?"

I reached behind my head and ruffled some of my hair. "Um… good, I guess. You?"

He shrugged. "Fine, I guess." He paused. "You're back I see."

"Yeah, and I'm staying." I smiled.

"Good…" he trailed off.

I sighed and told him everything that had happened.

"Well," he said. "I'm less angry at him now that I know he's told you that. I can tell he's been keeping it to himself for ages."

"What's happened to you? I thought you were the hyper one."

He shrugged, still solemn. "After you left… I guess things changed. I've just been training—"

I cut him off by throwing my arms around him. "It's okay." I said quietly. "I know I hurt you by leaving. But on the bright side, I'm going to stay now."

He didn't hug me back and looked away. "Okay…" he looked at me and smiled. "Good to have you back, Sakura." He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me back. We let go and Naruto's face lit up.

"Oh! I just remembered there's something I'm supposed to be doing! Ohhh man!"

"You're worse than when we were 12!" I laughed.

He started running into the city. He waved over his shoulder. "See ya later Sakura!"

I giggled as he ran out of sight. "Oh Naruto…"

"Well he took that rather well." I whirled around.

"You were listening?" I glared at Kakashi.

"Of course!" He smiled, saying it like it was obvious. "I've got to keep an eye on my girlfriend."

I was shocked for a second and then I blushed.

He chuckled. "What?"

I looked at the ground shyly. "I… like how that sounds."

His arms suddenly wrapped around my stomach from behind. He leaned down and whispered in my ear. "Me too."

"Okay, enough!" I said.

He laughed quietly. "You're right. We have plenty of time for this."

I shivered. He laughed.

"I love doing that to you." He smiled at my fondly and ruffled my hair.

"Yeah, I can tell." I grumbled. "Come on, let's go."

He looked confused. "Where are we going?"

"Into the city I guess… to tell everyone I'm not leaving."

"You're not leaving?" His face lit up.

"Well no," I said as-a-matter-of-factly. "Why would I?"

He picked me up and spun me in a circle.

"You won't regret this, Sakura." He whispered into my hair. "I love you."

I sighed into his chest. "I love you too."

...

Oh right. Here's where I "beg" for reviews. But wait just one gosh-darn minute, I don't do that! WTF?

P.S. This is NOT Beta-ed as it's 12:15am for me and I am just too damn lazy and way too tired lol. I'll leave the editing to my anonymous corrector :p


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